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SPE-44 Implements Sperm Cell Fate
Shakes, Diane C. Guevel, Katie Smith, Harold E. Kulkarni, Madhura
Shakes, Diane C.
Guevel, Katie
Smith, Harold E.
Kulkarni, Madhura
Abstract
The sperm/oocyte decision in the hermaphrodite germline of Caenorhabditis elegans provides a powerful model for the characterization of stem cell fate specification and differentiation. The germline sex determination program that governs gamete fate has been well studied, but direct mediators of cell-type-specific transcription are largely unknown. We report the identification of spe-44 as a critical regulator of sperm gene expression. Deletion of spe-44 causes sperm-specific defects cytokinesis, cell cycle progression, and organelle assembly resulting in sterility. Expression of spe-44 correlates precisely with spermatogenesis and is regulated by the germline sex determination pathway. spe-44 is required for the appropriate expression of several hundred sperm-enriched genes. The SPE-44 protein is restricted to the sperm-producing germline where it localizes to the autosomes (which contain sperm genes) but is excluded from the transcriptionally silent. X chromosome (which does not). The orthologous gene in other Caenorhabditis species is similarly expressed in a sex-biased manner, and the protein likewise exhibits autosome-specific localization in developing sperm, strongly suggestive of an evolutionarily conserved role in sperm gene expression. Our analysis represents the first identification of a transcriptional regulator whose primary function is the control of gamete-type-specific transcription in this system.
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2012-01-01
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Biology
DOI
10.1371/journal.pgen.1002678