The Smaug RNA-binding protein is essential for microRNA synthesis during the Drosophila maternal-to-zygotic transition

ABSTRACT: Background: Metazoan embryos undergo a maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) during which a subset of maternal gene products is eliminated and the zygotic genome becomes transcriptionally active. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and the microRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC) – of which Argonaute 1 (AGO1) is a key component in Drosophila – target maternal mRNAs for degradation. The Drosophila Smaug, Brain tumor (BRAT) and Pumilio (PUM) RBPs direct the degradation of maternal mRNAs. Here we elucidate Smaug’s roles in regulation of miRNAs and miRISC during the MZT. Results: By global analysis of small RNAs at several stages during the MZT, we show that the vast majority of all miRNA species encoded by the Drosophila genome (85%) are expressed during the MZT. Whereas a subset of these miR

ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster

SUBMITTER: Howard Lipshitz 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-82194 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress