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PMID: 9878068 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

The STAR protein, GLD-1, is a translational regulator of sexual identity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The EMBO journal ·Vol. 18 ·No. 1 ·1999-01-04 ·Pages 258-69

Jan E, Motzny CK, Graves LE, Goodwin EB

Abstract

The Caenorhabditis elegans sex determination gene, tra-2, is translationally regulated by elements in the 3'-untranslated region called TGEs. TGEs govern the translation of mRNAs in both invertebrates and vertebrates, indicating that this is a highly conserved mechanism for controlling gene activity. A factor called DRF, found in worm extracts binds the TGEs and may be a repressor of translation. Using the yeast three-hybrid screen and RNA gel shift analysis, we have found that the protein GLD-1, a germline-specific protein and a member of the STAR family of RNA-binding proteins, specifically binds to the TGEs. GLD-1 is essential for oogenesis, and is also necessary for spermatogenesis and inhibition of germ cell proliferation. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that GLD-1 is a translational repressor acting through the TGEs to repress tra-2 translation. GLD-1 can repress the translation of reporter RNAs via the TGEs both in vitro and in vivo, and is required to maintain low TRA-2A protein levels in the germline. Genetic analysis indicates that GLD-1 acts upstream of the TGE control. Finally, we show that endogenous GLD-1 is a component of DRF. The conservation of the TGE control and the STAR family suggests that at least a subset of STAR proteins may work through the TGEs to control translation.

MeSH Terms
Animals Animals, Genetically Modified Base Sequence Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics,growth & development,physiology Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins Female Genes, Helminth Helminth Proteins/genetics,physiology Male Membrane Proteins/genetics,physiology Molecular Sequence Data Mutation Phenotype Protein Biosynthesis RNA, Helminth/genetics Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics Sex Determination Processes
Chemicals
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins GLD-1 protein, C elegans Helminth Proteins Membrane Proteins RNA, Helminth tra-2 protein, C elegans
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Jan E
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Lurie Cancer Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Motzny C K
Graves L E
Goodwin E B
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Article Info
Journal
The EMBO journal
Abbr.
EMBO J
ISSN
0261-4189
DOI
10.1093/emboj/18.1.258
Published
1999-01-04
Pages
258-69
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
8208664
PMCID
PMC1171120
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM 51836-01 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/emboj/18.1.258 PMC Full Text View journal details
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