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The sperm-oocyte switch in the C. elegans hermaphrodite is controlled through steady-state levels of the fem-3 mRNA

  • Zanetti, Simone Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Grinschgl, Sonja Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Meola, Marco Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Belfiore, Marco Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Rey, Samantha Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Bianchi, Pamela Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Puoti, Alessandro Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
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    25.05.2012
Published in:
  • RNA. - 2012, vol. 18, no. 7, p. 1385-1394
fem-3
Caenorhabditis elegans
sex determination
germline
RNA
English Post-transcriptional control regulates many aspects of germline development in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite. This nematode switches from spermatogenesis to oogenesis and is, therefore, capable of self-fertilization. This sperm-oocyte switch requires 3′ UTR-mediated repression of the fem-3 mRNA. Loss of fem-3 repression results in continuous spermatogenesis in hermaphrodites. Although several factors regulating fem-3 have been identified, little is known about the mechanisms that control fem-3. Here, we investigate the steady-state levels of the fem-3 transcript and the expression pattern of its protein product. We show that FEM-3 is exclusively present in germ cells that are committed to spermatogenesis. We found that in fem-3(gf)/+ heterozygotes, mutant fem-3 gain-of-function transcripts are more abundant than their wild-type counterpart. Furthermore, we show that the penetrance of the fem-3(gf) allele correlates with inefficient FBF binding and extended poly(A) tail size of fem-3 mRNAs. Finally, we show that wild-type and gain-of-function mutated fem-3 mRNAs associate equally well with polyribosomes. We propose that the fem-3 mRNA is regulated through stabilization rather than through translatability.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Biological sciences
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/302550
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