Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

A family of C. elegans VASA homologs control Argonaute pathway specificity and promote transgenerational silencing

Siyuan Dai, Xiaoyin Tang, Lili Li, Takao Ishidate, Ahmet R Ozturk, Hao Chen, Yonghong Yan, Mengqiu Dong, Enzhi Shen, Craig C Mello
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.18.476504
Siyuan Dai
1RNA Therapeutic institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
2Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Xiaoyin Tang
3Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Lili Li
3Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Takao Ishidate
1RNA Therapeutic institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ahmet R Ozturk
1RNA Therapeutic institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hao Chen
2Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Yonghong Yan
5National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing 102206, China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mengqiu Dong
5National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing 102206, China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Enzhi Shen
3Key Laboratory of Growth Regulation and Translational Research of Zhejiang Province, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
4Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: craig.mello@umassmed.edu
Craig C Mello
1RNA Therapeutic institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
6Howard Hughes Medical Institute, United States
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: craig.mello@umassmed.edu
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Germline Argonautes direct transcriptome surveillance within peri-nuclear membraneless organelles called nuage. In C. elegans, a family of Vasa-related Germ Line Helicase (GLH) proteins localize in, and promote the formation of nuage called P granules. Previous studies have implicated GLH proteins in inherited silencing but direct roles in amplification of small RNAs, or in target mRNA or Argonatue binding have not been identified. Here we show that GLH proteins compete with each other to control Argonaute pathway specificity, bind directly to Argonaute-target mRNAs and act to promote the amplification of small RNAs required for transgenerational inheritance. We show that the ATPase cycle of GLH-1 regulates its direct binding to the Argonaute WAGO-1 which engages amplified small RNAs. Our findings support a dynamic and direct role for GLH proteins in inherited silencing beyond their role as structural components of nuage.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted January 18, 2022.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
A family of C. elegans VASA homologs control Argonaute pathway specificity and promote transgenerational silencing
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
A family of C. elegans VASA homologs control Argonaute pathway specificity and promote transgenerational silencing
Siyuan Dai, Xiaoyin Tang, Lili Li, Takao Ishidate, Ahmet R Ozturk, Hao Chen, Yonghong Yan, Mengqiu Dong, Enzhi Shen, Craig C Mello
bioRxiv 2022.01.18.476504; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.18.476504
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
A family of C. elegans VASA homologs control Argonaute pathway specificity and promote transgenerational silencing
Siyuan Dai, Xiaoyin Tang, Lili Li, Takao Ishidate, Ahmet R Ozturk, Hao Chen, Yonghong Yan, Mengqiu Dong, Enzhi Shen, Craig C Mello
bioRxiv 2022.01.18.476504; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.18.476504

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Molecular Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3571)
  • Biochemistry (7514)
  • Bioengineering (5473)
  • Bioinformatics (20664)
  • Biophysics (10250)
  • Cancer Biology (7925)
  • Cell Biology (11563)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6558)
  • Ecology (10129)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13526)
  • Genetics (9493)
  • Genomics (12784)
  • Immunology (7869)
  • Microbiology (19429)
  • Molecular Biology (7609)
  • Neuroscience (41854)
  • Paleontology (306)
  • Pathology (1252)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2178)
  • Physiology (3247)
  • Plant Biology (6993)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1290)
  • Synthetic Biology (1941)
  • Systems Biology (5404)
  • Zoology (1107)