Dataset Information

Negative regulation of meiotic gene expression by the nuclear poly(a)-binding protein in fission yeast.

ABSTRACT: Meiosis is a cellular differentiation process in which hundreds of genes are temporally induced. Because the expression of meiotic genes during mitosis is detrimental to proliferation, meiotic genes must be negatively regulated in the mitotic cell cycle. Yet, little is known about mechanisms used by mitotic cells to repress meiosis-specific genes. Here we show that the poly(A)-binding protein Pab2, the fission yeast homolog of mammalian PABPN1, controls the expression of several meiotic transcripts during mitotic division. Our results from chromatin immunoprecipitation and promoter-swapping experiments indicate that Pab2 controls meiotic genes post-transcriptionally. Consistently, we show that the nuclear exosome complex cooperates with Pab2 in the negative regulation of meiotic genes. We also found that Pab2 plays a role in the RNA decay pathway orchestrated by Mmi1, a previously described factor that functions in the post-transcriptional elimination of meiotic transcripts. Our results support a model in which Mmi1 selectively targets meiotic transcripts for degradation via Pab2 and the exosome. Our findings have therefore uncovered a mode of gene regulation whereby a poly(A)-binding protein promotes RNA degradation in the nucleus to prevent untimely expression.

SUBMITTER: St-Andre O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2934653 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Negative regulation of meiotic gene expression by the nuclear poly(a)-binding protein in fission yeast.

St-André Olivier O Lemieux Caroline C Perreault Audrey A Lackner Daniel H DH Bähler Jürg J Bachand François F

The Journal of biological chemistry 20100709 36

Meiosis is a cellular differentiation process in which hundreds of genes are temporally induced. Because the expression of meiotic genes during mitosis is detrimental to proliferation, meiotic genes must be negatively regulated in the mitotic cell cycle. Yet, little is known about mechanisms used by mitotic cells to repress meiosis-specific genes. Here we show that the poly(A)-binding protein Pab2, the fission yeast homolog of mammalian PABPN1, controls the expression of several meiotic transcri ...[more]

PMID: 20622014

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundMeiotic cells undergo two rounds of nuclear division and generate gametes. Previous studies have indicated that a number of transcription factors modulate the transcriptome in successive waves during meiosis and spore formation in fission yeast. However, the mechanisms underlying the post-transcriptional regulation in meiosis are not fully understood. The fission yeast spo5+ gene encodes a meiosis-specific RNA-binding protein, which is required for the progression of meiosis II and spore formation. However, the target RNA molecules of Spo5 are yet to be identified. Characterization of meiosis-specific RNA-binding proteins will provide insight into how post-transcriptional regulation influence gene expression during sexual differentiation.ResultsTo assess the functional significance of RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs) of Spo5, we constructed a series of new spo5 truncated mutants and previously reported spo5 missense mutants. In addition, we isolated novel spo5 missense mutants. The phenotypic characteristics of these mutants indicated that the RRMs are essential for both the localization and function of the protein. Interestingly, Spo5 is exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm via the Rae1-dependent mRNA export pathway, but is unlikely to be involved in global mRNA export. Furthermore, cytoplasmic localization of Spo5 is important for its function, which suggests the involvement of Spo5 in post-transcriptional regulation. We identified pcr1+ mRNA as one of the critical targets of Spo5. The pcr1+ gene encodes an activating transcription factor/cAMP response element binding (ATF/CREB) transcription factor family. Among the four family members, namely Pcr1, Atf1, Atf21, and Atf31, only the mRNA encoding Pcr1 binds to Spo5.ConclusionsSpo5 is exported from the nucleus with mRNAs via the Rae1-dependent pathway. RRMs are necessary for this process and also for the function of Spo5 after the nuclear export. Spo5 appears to influence the activity of pcr1+ mRNA, and the mechanism of how Spo5 stimulates the mRNA to promote the progression of meiosis II and spore formation remains an intriguing question for future research.

Dataset Information

Negative regulation of meiotic gene expression by the nuclear poly(a)-binding protein in fission yeast.

Publications

Negative regulation of meiotic gene expression by the nuclear poly(a)-binding protein in fission yeast.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets