PLoS Biology (Apr 2019)

A novel evolutionary conserved mechanism of RNA stability regulates synexpression of primordial germ cell-specific genes prior to the sex-determination stage in medaka.

  • Amaury Herpin,
  • Cornelia Schmidt,
  • Susanne Kneitz,
  • Clara Gobé,
  • Martina Regensburger,
  • Aurélie Le Cam,
  • Jérome Montfort,
  • Mateus C Adolfi,
  • Christina Lillesaar,
  • Dagmar Wilhelm,
  • Michael Kraeussling,
  • Brigitte Mourot,
  • Béatrice Porcon,
  • Maëlle Pannetier,
  • Eric Pailhoux,
  • Laurence Ettwiller,
  • Dirk Dolle,
  • Yann Guiguen,
  • Manfred Schartl

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000185
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 4
p. e3000185

Abstract

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Dmrt1 is a highly conserved transcription factor, which is critically involved in regulation of gonad development of vertebrates. In medaka, a duplicate of dmrt1-acting as master sex-determining gene-has a tightly timely and spatially controlled gonadal expression pattern. In addition to transcriptional regulation, a sequence motif in the 3' UTR (D3U-box) mediates transcript stability of dmrt1 mRNAs from medaka and other vertebrates. We show here that in medaka, two RNA-binding proteins with antagonizing properties target this D3U-box, promoting either RNA stabilization in germ cells or degradation in the soma. The D3U-box is also conserved in other germ-cell transcripts, making them responsive to the same RNA binding proteins. The evolutionary conservation of the D3U-box motif within dmrt1 genes of metazoans-together with preserved expression patterns of the targeting RNA binding proteins in subsets of germ cells-suggest that this new mechanism for controlling RNA stability is not restricted to fishes but might also apply to other vertebrates.