5td6

Publication Abstract from PubMed

FOG-3 is a master regulator of sperm fate in Caenorhabditis elegans and homologous to Tob/BTG proteins, which in mammals are monomeric adaptors that recruit enzymes to RNA binding proteins. Here, we determine the FOG-3 crystal structure and in vitro demonstrate that FOG-3 forms dimers that can multimerize. The FOG-3 multimeric structure has a basic surface potential, suggestive of binding nucleic acid. Consistent with that prediction, FOG-3 binds directly to nearly 1,000 RNAs in nematode spermatogenic germ cells. Most binding is to the 3' UTR, and most targets (94%) are oogenic mRNAs, even though assayed in spermatogenic cells. When tethered to a reporter mRNA, FOG-3 represses its expression. Together these findings elucidate the molecular mechanism of sperm fate specification and reveal the evolution of a protein from monomeric to multimeric form with acquisition of a distinct mode of mRNA repression.

An RNA-Binding Multimer Specifies Nematode Sperm Fate.,Aoki ST, Porter DF, Prasad A, Wickens M, Bingman CA, Kimble J Cell Rep. 2018 Jun 26;23(13):3769-3775. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.095. PMID:29949762^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.