A meiotic gene regulatory cascade driven by alternative fates for newly synthesized transcripts.

ABSTRACT: To determine the relative importance of transcriptional regulation versus RNA processing and turnover during the transition from proliferation to meiotic differentiation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we analyzed temporal profiles and effects of RNA surveillance factor mutants on expression of 32 meiotic genes. A comparison of nascent transcription with steady-state RNA accumulation reveals that the vast majority of these genes show a lag between maximal RNA synthesis and peak RNA accumulation. During meiosis, total RNA levels parallel 3' processing, which occurs in multiple, temporally distinct waves that peak from 3 to 6 h after meiotic induction. Most early genes and one middle gene, mei4, share a regulatory mechanism in which a specialized RNA surveillance factor targe

SUBMITTER: Cremona N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3016978 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature