en
Scientific article
Open access
English

LARP-1 promotes oogenesis by repressing fem-3 in the C. elegans germline

Published inJournal of cell science, vol. 123, no. Pt 16, p. 2717-2724
Publication date2010
Abstract

LA-related protein 1 (LARP-1) belongs to an RNA-binding protein family containing a LA motif. Here, we identify LARP-1 as a regulator of sex determination. In C. elegans hermaphrodites, a complex regulatory network regulates the switch from sperm to oocyte production. We find that simultaneous depletion of larp-1 and the Nanos homologue nos-3 results in germline masculinization. This phenotype is accompanied by a strong reduction of the levels of TRA-1, a GLI-family transcription factor that promotes oogenesis. TRA-1 levels are regulated by CBC(FEM-1), a ubiquitin ligase consisting of the FEM proteins, FEM-1, FEM-2 and FEM-3 and the cullin CUL-2. We show that both the masculinization phenotype and the reduction of TRA-1 levels observed in nos-3;larp-1 mutants require fem-3 activity, suggesting that nos-3 and larp-1 regulate the sperm-oocyte switch by inhibiting the fem genes. Consistently, fem-3 mRNA levels are increased in larp-1 mutants. By contrast, levels of fem-3 mRNA are not affected in nos-3 mutants. Therefore, our data indicate that LARP-1 and NOS-3 promote oogenesis by regulating fem-3 expression through distinct mechanisms.

Keywords
  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans/genetics/metabolism/*physiology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics/*metabolism
  • Female
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System
  • Male
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/genetics/metabolism
  • Mutation
  • Oocytes/physiology
  • Oogenesis/genetics/*physiology
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA-Binding Proteins/*metabolism
  • Sex Determination Processes/*physiology
  • Spermatozoa/physiology
Citation (ISO format)
ZANIN, Esther et al. LARP-1 promotes oogenesis by repressing fem-3 in the C. elegans germline. In: Journal of cell science, 2010, vol. 123, n° Pt 16, p. 2717–2724. doi: 10.1242/jcs.066761
Main files (1)
Article
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal0021-9533
568views
165downloads

Technical informations

Creation05/23/2012 9:01:14 AM
First validation05/23/2012 9:01:14 AM
Update time03/14/2023 5:36:32 PM
Status update03/14/2023 5:36:32 PM
Last indexation05/02/2024 12:32:29 PM
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack