[
International Worm Meeting,
2021]
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that together with their protein cofactors, bind to target messenger RNAs to promote mRNA decay and translational repression. miRNAs are highly conserved and are implicated in essentially all biological processes in plants and animals. In the absence of miRNAs, C. elegans arrest during embryogenesis. Even partial loss of miRNAs can lead to severe development defects. The biogenesis of miRNAs is similar from C. elegans to humans, although there are differences in how primary miRNA transcripts are distinguished from other RNAs in different species and even between different miRNA transcripts within the same species. To better understand how miRNAs are processed in C. elegans, we developed an mCherry-based sensor that is desilenced when primary miRNA processing is impaired. We then performed a forward genetic screen to identify mutations that desilence the sensor and which may therefore affect primary miRNA recognition or processing. We are now characterizing a line we identified in our screen that has a mutation in the WW domain of Pasha as we more broadly explore the role of Pasha in primary miRNA recognition and processing.