LSY-2 is essential for maintaining the germ-soma distinction in C. elegans

• Published in: Protein & cell 2015-08, Vol.6 (8), p.599-609
• Main Authors: Lin, Long, Li, Yuping, Yan, Libo, Zhang, Gangming, Zhao, Yu, Zhang, Hong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine Triphosphatases - genetics; Adenosine Triphosphatases - metabolism; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; C. elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; Cell Biology; Developmental Biology; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; Gene Expression Profiling; Genes, Essential - genetics; Germ Cells - metabolism; Green Fluorescent Proteins - genetics; Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism; Human Genetics; Life Sciences; lsy-2; Mutation; P granules; Protein Science; Research Article; RNA Interference; soma; Stem Cells; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; 体细胞胚; 基因表达谱; 染色质重塑; 生殖细胞; 线虫; 胞体; 转基因沉默
• ISSN: 1674-800X; 1674-8018
• DOI: 10.1007/s13238-015-0173-1

The mechanisms that specify and maintain the charac- teristics of germ cells during animal development are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that loss of function of the zinc-finger gene Isy-2 results in various somatic cells adopting germ cells characteris- tics, including expression of germline-specific P gran- ules, enhanced RNAi activity and transgene silencing. The soma to germ transformation in Isy-2 mutants requires the activities of multiple chromatin remodeling complexes, including the MES-4 complex and the ISW-1 complex. The distinct germline-specific features in somatic cells and the gene expression profile indicate that LSY-2 acts in the Mec complex in this process. Our study demonstrated that Isy-2 functions in the mainte- nance of the soma-germ distinction.