C. elegans La-related protein, LARP-1, localizes to germline P bodies and attenuates Ras-MAPK signaling during oogenesis.

RNA regulators are critical for animal development, especially in the germ line where gene expression is often modulated by changes in mRNA stability, translation, and localization. In this paper, we focus on Caenorhabditis elegans a representative of one La-related protein (Larp) family found broadly among eukaryotes. possesses a signature La motif, which is an ancient RNA-binding domain, plus a second conserved motif, typical of Lduanyu37-1 homologs and therefore dubbed the domain. Lduanyu37-1 appears to bind RNA in vitro via both the La motif and the Lduanyu371 domain. larp-1 null mutants have an oogenesis defect reminiscent of hyperactive Ras-MAPK signaling; this defect is suppressed or enhanced by down- or up-regulating the Ras-MAPK pathway, respectively. Consistent with a role in down-regulating the Ras-MAPK pathway, larp-1 null mutants have higher than normal levels of selected pathway mRNAs and proteins. Lduanyu37-1 protein colocalizes with P bodies, which function in RNA degradation. We suggest that Lduanyu37-1 functions in P bodies to attenuate the abundance of conserved Ras-MAPK mRNAs. We also propose that the cluster of Lduanyu37-1 homologs may function generally to control the expression of key developmental regulators.

KEYWORDS: {{ getKeywords(articleDetailText.words) }}