The SPN-4 Rbfox RNA-binding protein selects maternal mRNAs for CCR4-NOT-dependent clearance in early <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> embryos.

ABSTRACT: The elimination of maternal mRNAs is an essential feature of the maternal-to-zygotic transition. We report an essential pathway that clears many maternal transcripts from early C. elegans embryos using the Rbfox-related SPN-4 RNA-binding protein as a specificity factor and the CCR4-NOT deadenylase complex as an effector. We biochemically identified SPN-4-associated mRNAs from late-stage oocytes and found that the set of SPN-4-associated transcripts is enriched for maternal mRNAs that undergo early decay. Single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments established that many SPN-4-associated mRNAs fail to be eliminated in the absence of SPN-4. In the 3'UTRs of two target mRNAs, we identified Rbfox motifs that are required for SPN-4-dependent clearance in vivo<

SUBMITTER: Spike CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632854 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature