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PMID: 17543859 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

zucchini and squash encode two putative nucleases required for rasiRNA production in the Drosophila germline.

Developmental cell ·Vol. 12 ·No. 6 ·2007-06-00 ·Pages 851-62

Pane A, Wehr K, Schüpbach T

Abstract

RNAi is a widespread mechanism by which organisms regulate gene expression and defend their genomes against viruses and transposable elements. Here we report the identification of Drosophila zucchini (zuc) and squash (squ), which function in germline RNAi processes. Zuc and Squ contain domains with homologies to nucleases. Mutant females are sterile and show dorsoventral patterning defects during oogenesis. In addition, Oskar protein is ectopically expressed in early oocytes, where it is normally silenced by RNAi mechanisms. Zuc and Squ localize to the perinuclear nuage and interact with Aubergine, a PIWI class protein. Mutations in zuc and squ induce the upregulation of Het-A and Tart, two telomere-specific transposable elements, and the expression of Stellate protein in the Drosophila germline. We show that these defects are due to the inability of zuc and squ mutants to produce repeat-associated small interfering RNAs.

MeSH Terms
Amino Acid Sequence Animals Blotting, Northern Blotting, Western DNA Transposable Elements/physiology Drosophila Proteins/genetics,metabolism Drosophila melanogaster/enzymology,genetics,growth & development Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism Endonucleases/genetics,metabolism Endoribonucleases/genetics,metabolism Female Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal Gene Products, gag/metabolism Germ Cells/cytology,metabolism Immunoprecipitation Male Molecular Sequence Data Mutation Oocytes/cytology,metabolism Oogenesis/physiology Peptide Initiation Factors/metabolism RNA, Fungal/genetics,metabolism RNA, Messenger/genetics,metabolism RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology Sequence Homology, Amino Acid Transforming Growth Factor alpha/metabolism
Chemicals
DNA Transposable Elements Drosophila Proteins Gene Products, gag HeT-A-gag protein, Drosophila Peptide Initiation Factors RNA, Fungal RNA, Messenger RNA, Small Interfering TART-element-gag protein, Drosophila Transforming Growth Factor alpha aub protein, Drosophila grk protein, Drosophila osk protein, Drosophila Endonucleases Endoribonucleases Squ protein, Drosophila Zuc protein, Drosophila
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Pane Attilio
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Wehr Kristina
Schüpbach Trudi
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Article Info
Journal
Developmental cell
Abbr.
Dev Cell
ISSN
1534-5807
DOI
10.1016/j.devcel.2007.03.022
Published
2007-06-00
Pages
851-62
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
101120028
PMCID
PMC1945814
Subset
IM
Grants
NCI NIH HHS · P01 CA41086 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM077620-01A1 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · 1 R01 GM077620 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM077620 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · P01 CA041086 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · P01 CA041086-200006 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2007.03.022 PMC Full Text View journal details
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