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PMID: 18571452 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PRG-1 and 21U-RNAs interact to form the piRNA complex required for fertility in C. elegans.

Molecular cell ·Vol. 31 ·No. 1 ·2008-07-11 ·Pages 67-78

Batista PJ, Ruby JG, Claycomb JM, Chiang R, Fahlgren N, Kasschau KD, Chaves DA, Gu W, Vasale JJ, Duan S, Conte D, Luo S, Schroth GP, Carrington JC, Bartel DP, Mello CC

Abstract

In metazoans, Piwi-related Argonaute proteins have been linked to germline maintenance, and to a class of germline-enriched small RNAs termed piRNAs. Here we show that an abundant class of 21 nucleotide small RNAs (21U-RNAs) are expressed in the C. elegans germline, interact with the C. elegans Piwi family member PRG-1, and depend on PRG-1 activity for their accumulation. The PRG-1 protein is expressed throughout development and localizes to nuage-like structures called P granules. Although 21U-RNA loci share a conserved upstream sequence motif, the mature 21U-RNAs are not conserved and, with few exceptions, fail to exhibit complementarity or evidence for direct regulation of other expressed sequences. Our findings demonstrate that 21U-RNAs are the piRNAs of C. elegans and link this class of small RNAs and their associated Piwi Argonaute to the maintenance of temperature-dependent fertility.

MeSH Terms
Animals Argonaute Proteins Base Sequence Caenorhabditis elegans/cytology,genetics,metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/metabolism Fertility Gene Expression Regulation Germ Cells/cytology,metabolism Models, Biological Molecular Sequence Data Mutation/genetics Protein Binding RNA, Helminth/metabolism RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism RNA-Induced Silencing Complex Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics
Chemicals
Argonaute Proteins Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins PRG-1 protein, C elegans RNA, Helminth RNA, Small Interfering RNA-Induced Silencing Complex
Authors & Affiliations
16 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Batista Pedro J
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
Ruby J Graham
Claycomb Julie M
Chiang Rosaria
Fahlgren Noah
Kasschau Kristin D
Chaves Daniel A
Gu Weifeng
Vasale Jessica J
Duan Shenghua
Conte Darryl
Luo Shujun
Schroth Gary P
Carrington James C
Bartel David P
Mello Craig C
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Article Info
Journal
Molecular cell
Abbr.
Mol Cell
ISSN
1097-4164
DOI
10.1016/j.molcel.2008.06.002
Published
2008-07-11
Epub
2008-00-19
Pages
67-78
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
9802571
PMCID
PMC2570341
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM67031 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R37 GM058800 · United States
Howard Hughes Medical Institute · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM067031 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM058800 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM058800-10 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM58800 · United States
Databases
GEO
GSE11738
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2008.06.002 PMC Full Text View journal details
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