Smaug regulates germ plasm assembly and primordial germ cell number in Drosophila embryos

During Drosophila oogenesis, the Oskar (OSK) RNA binding protein (RBP) determines the amount of germ plasm that assembles at the posterior pole of the oocyte. Here, we identify mechanisms that subsequently regulate germ plasm assembly in the early embryo. We show that the Smaug (SMG) RBP is transpor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2024-04, Vol.10 (15), p.eadg7894-eadg7894
Main Authors: Siddiqui, Najeeb U, Karaiskakis, Angelo, Goldman, Aaron L, Eagle, Whitby V I, Low, Timothy C H, Luo, Hua, Smibert, Craig A, Gavis, Elizabeth R, Lipshitz, Howard D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cell Count
Cytoplasm
Drosophila
Germ Cells
Lizards
RNA, Messenger - genetics
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Summary:During Drosophila oogenesis, the Oskar (OSK) RNA binding protein (RBP) determines the amount of germ plasm that assembles at the posterior pole of the oocyte. Here, we identify mechanisms that subsequently regulate germ plasm assembly in the early embryo. We show that the Smaug (SMG) RBP is transported into the germ plasm of the early embryo where it accumulates in the germ granules. SMG binds to and represses translation of the messenger RNA (mRNA) as well as the ( ) mRNA, which encodes an RBP that we show promotes germ plasm production. Loss of SMG or mutation of SMG's binding sites in the or mRNA results in excess translation of these transcripts in the germ plasm, accumulation of excess germ plasm, and budding of excess primordial germ cells (PGCs). Therefore, SMG triggers a posttranscriptional regulatory pathway that attenuates the amount of germ plasm in embryos to modulate the number of PGCs.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adg7894