PAB-1, a <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> Poly(A)-Binding Protein, Regulates mRNA Metabolism in germline by Interacting with CGH-1 and CAR-1.

Ko, Sunhee; Kawasaki, Ichiro; Shim, Yhong-Hee

Poly(A)-binding proteins are highly conserved among eukaryotes and regulate stability of mRNA and translation. Among C. elegans homologues, pab-1 mutants showed defects in germline mitotic proliferation. Unlike pab-1 mutants, pab-1 RNAi at every larval stage caused arrest of germline development at the following stage, indicating that pab-1 is required for the entire postembryonic germline development. This idea is supported by the observations that the mRNA level of pab-1 increased throughout postembryonic development and its protein expression was germline-enriched. PAB-1 localized to P granules and the cytoplasm in the germline. PAB-1 colocalized with CGH-1 and CAR-1 and affected their localization, suggesting that PAB-1 is a component of processing (P)-bodies that interacts with them. The mRNA and protein levels of representative germline genes, rec-8, GLP-1, rme-2, and msp-152, were decreased after pab-1 RNAi. Although the mRNA level of msp-152 was increased in cgh-1 mutant, it was also significantly reduced by pab-1 RNAi. Our results suggest that PAB-1 positively regulates the mRNA levels of germline genes, which is likely facilitated by the interaction of PAB-1 with other P-body components, CGH-1 and CAR-1.

CAENORHABDITIS elegans; CARRIER proteins; MESSENGER RNA; GENETIC translation; EUKARYOTES; CELL proliferation; GENE expression; METABOLISM; GERM cells

PLoS ONE, 2013, Vol 8, Issue 12, p1

1932-6203

Academic Journal

10.1371/journal.pone.0084798