Translational Regulation in the C. elegans Germline

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): My primary objective is to investigate translational regulatory mechanisms. In C. elegans, as in most animals, early embryonic development depends on maternal mRNAs stockpiled in oocytes. One translationally regulated maternal mRNA is pal-1, which encodes a caudal homolog that patterns posterior embryonic development in C. elegans. pal-1 mRNA is transcribed in the maternal germline, but PAL-1 protein does not accumulate until after fertilization. The evolutionarily conserved STAR/Maxi-KH domain protein GLD-1 acts through the pal-1 3'UTR to repress pal-1 translation in the distal germline. Data from the Hunter lab show that germline pal-1 mRNA is associated with polysomes, suggesting that translation is inhibited after the initiation step. MicroRNAs, which are expressed broadly and dynamically, are also thought to regulate translation. Experiments described in this proposal focus on translational regulation of pal-1 in the germline, using C. elegans as a model.