Reduction of mRNA export unmasks different tissue sensitivities to low mRNA levels during Caenorhabditis elegans development.

ABSTRACT: Animal development requires the execution of specific transcriptional programs in different sets of cells to build tissues and functional organs. Transcripts are exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm where they are translated into proteins that, ultimately, carry out the cellular functions. Here we show that in Caenorhabditis elegans, reduction of mRNA export strongly affects epithelial morphogenesis and germline proliferation while other tissues remain relatively unaffected. Epithelialization and gamete formation demand a large number of transcripts in the cytoplasm for the duration of these processes. In addition, our findings highlight the existence of a regulatory feedback mechanism that activates gene expression in response to low levels of cytoplasmic mRNA. We expand the genetic

SUBMITTER: Zheleva A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6762213 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature