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Resources » Paper

Pagano, John M et al. (2009) International Worm Meeting "RNA recognition by the cell fate determinant MEX-3."

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  • Comments on Pagano, John M et al. (2009) International Worm Meeting "RNA recognition by the cell fate determinant MEX-3." (0)

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    Publication type:
    Meeting_abstract
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00034472

    Pagano, John M, & Ryder, Sean P (2009). RNA recognition by the cell fate determinant MEX-3 presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression governs the development of the Caenorhabditis elegans germline and early embryo. The putative RNA binding protein MEX-3 is essential for maintaining totipotency of germline stem cells and for specification of the anterior founder cell (AB) during embryogenesis. mex-3 mutants are maternal effect lethal with a terminal phenotype that includes posterior muscle proliferating into the anterior (1). In addition, worms that are deficient in MEX-3 and a second RNA binding protein, GLD-1, are sterile and form transdifferentiated germline tumors (2). Genetic studies reveal that two genes involved in early development, pal-1 and nos-2, are dependent upon mex-3 for their protein expression pattern (1, 3). MEX-3 contains two conserved KH domains and is thought to control mRNA stability, translation efficiency, and/or mRNA localization through specific interactions with target maternal mRNAs. However, the RNA binding specificity and network of regulatory targets have not been determined. Here, we used in vitro selection (SELEX) and quantitative biochemical methods to define the consensus MEX-3 recognition element (MRE). We demonstrate that MEX-3 binds specifically to a bipartite element consisting of two four-nucleotide elements with variable spacing between each half-site. The putative mRNA targets pal-1 and nos-2 each contain two MREs in their 3''UTR. Furthermore, the transcript nos-2 has an MRE within a critical cis-regulatory element required to repress NOS-2 expression in early embryos (4). Our results show that MEX-3 binds specifically to this element. The MRE is present in several other genes that are required for germline development and embryogenesis. Candidate regulatory targets include a number of RNA binding proteins (mex-1, gld-1, spn-4, puf-6, puf-7) and membrane proteins (glp-1, ooc-3). Target prediction based on the MRE will be used to further elucidate the role of MEX-3 in early development. 1. Draper BW, et al. (1996) Cell 87, 205-216 2. Ciosk R, et al. (2006) Science 311, 851-853 3. Jadhav S, et al. (2008) Development 135, 1803-1812 4. D''Agostino I, et al. (2006) Dev. Biol. 292, 244-252.


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