Functional significance of nuclear export and mRNA binding of meiotic regulator Spo5 in fission yeast

BMC Microbiology

Masayuki Yamamoto¹  Masamitsu Sato²  Akira Yamashita³  Naoyuki Togashi⁴ 

[1] National Institute for Basic Biology, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan;Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 2-2 Wakamatsucho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan;Kazusa DNA Research Institute, 2-6-7 Kazusa-kamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan;Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan

关键词: ATF/CREB family;    RNA-binding protein;    RNA export;    Meiosis;    Fission yeast;   

Others  :  1140756
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2180-14-188

 received in 2013-11-18, accepted in 2014-07-03,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Meiotic cells undergo two rounds of nuclear division and generate gametes. Previous studies have indicated that a number of transcription factors modulate the transcriptome in successive waves during meiosis and spore formation in fission yeast. However, the mechanisms underlying the post-transcriptional regulation in meiosis are not fully understood. The fission yeast spo5⁺ gene encodes a meiosis-specific RNA-binding protein, which is required for the progression of meiosis II and spore formation. However, the target RNA molecules of Spo5 are yet to be identified. Characterization of meiosis-specific RNA-binding proteins will provide insight into how post-transcriptional regulation influence gene expression during sexual differentiation.

Results

To assess the functional significance of RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs) of Spo5, we constructed a series of new spo5 truncated mutants and previously reported spo5 missense mutants. In addition, we isolated novel spo5 missense mutants. The phenotypic characteristics of these mutants indicated that the RRMs are essential for both the localization and function of the protein. Interestingly, Spo5 is exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm via the Rae1-dependent mRNA export pathway, but is unlikely to be involved in global mRNA export. Furthermore, cytoplasmic localization of Spo5 is important for its function, which suggests the involvement of Spo5 in post-transcriptional regulation. We identified pcr1⁺ mRNA as one of the critical targets of Spo5. The pcr1⁺ gene encodes an activating transcription factor/cAMP response element binding (ATF/CREB) transcription factor family. Among the four family members, namely Pcr1, Atf1, Atf21, and Atf31, only the mRNA encoding Pcr1 binds to Spo5.

Conclusions

Spo5 is exported from the nucleus with mRNAs via the Rae1-dependent pathway. RRMs are necessary for this process and also for the function of Spo5 after the nuclear export. Spo5 appears to influence the activity of pcr1⁺ mRNA, and the mechanism of how Spo5 stimulates the mRNA to promote the progression of meiosis II and spore formation remains an intriguing question for future research.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Togashi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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