Elr-type proteins protect Xenopus Dead end mRNA from miR-18-mediated clearance in the soma

Katja Koebernick, Jana Loeber, Patrick Kobina Arthur, Katsiaryna Tarbashevich, Tomas Pieler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Segregation of the future germline defines a crucial cell fate decision during animal development. In Xenopus, germ cells are specified by inheritance of vegetally localized maternal determinants, including a group of specific mRNAs. Here, we show that the vegetal localization elements (LE) of Xenopus Dead end (XDE) and of several other germ-line-specific, vegetally localized transcripts mediate germ cell-specific stabilization and somatic clearance of microinjected reporter mRNA in Xenopus embryos. The part of XDE-LE critical for somatic RNA clearance exhibits homology to zebrafish nanos1 and appears to be targeted by Xenopus miR-18 for somatic mRNA clearance. Xenopus Elr-type proteins of the vegetal localization complex can alleviate somatic RNA clearance of microinjected XDE-LE and endogenous XDE mRNA. ElrB1 synergizes with Xenopus Dead end protein in the stabilization of XDE-LE mRNA. Taken together, our findings unveil a functional link of vegetal mRNA localization and the protection of germ-line mRNAs from somatic clearance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16148-16153
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume107
Issue number37
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Sep 2010

Keywords

  • Development
  • Germ cell
  • MicroRNA
  • RNA localization
  • Vegetal

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