The fog-3 Gene and Regulation of Cell Fate in the Germ Line of Caenorhabditis elegans

INVESTIGATIONS

The fog-3 Gene and Regulation of Cell Fate in the Germ Line of Caenorhabditis elegans

R. E. Ellis and J. Kimble
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Departments of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, germ cells normally adopt one of three fates: mitosis, spermatogenesis or oogenesis. We have identified and characterized the gene fog-3, which is required for germ cells to differentiate as sperm rather than as oocytes. Analysis of double mutants suggests that fog-3 is absolutely required for spermatogenesis and acts at the end of the regulatory hierarchy controlling sex determination for the germ line. By contrast, mutations in fog-3 do not alter the sexual identity of other tissues. We also have characterized the null phenotype of fog-1, another gene required for spermatogenesis; we demonstrate that it too controls the sexual identity of germ cells but not of other tissues. Finally, we have studied the interaction of these two fog genes with gld-1, a gene required for germ cells to undergo oogenesis rather than mitosis. On the basis of these results, we propose that germ-cell fate might be controlled by a set of inhibitory interactions among genes that specify one of three fates: mitosis, spermatogenesis or oogenesis. Such a regulatory network would link the adoption of one germ-cell fate to the suppression of the other two.

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				B. E. Thompson, D. S. Bernstein, J. L. Bachorik, A. G. Petcherski, M. Wickens, and J. Kimble Dose-dependent control of proliferation and sperm specification by FOG-1/CPEB Development, August 1, 2005; 132(15): 3471 - 3481. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				A. Pires-daSilva and R. J. Sommer Conservation of the global sex determination gene tra-1 in distantly related nematodes Genes & Dev., May 15, 2004; 18(10): 1198 - 1208. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Chang, C. Tilmann, K. Thoemke, F.-H. Markussen, L. D. Mathies, J. Kimble, and D. Zarkower A forkhead protein controls sexual identity of the C. elegans male somatic gonad Development, March 15, 2004; 131(6): 1425 - 1436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Miller, P. J. Ruest, M. Kosinski, S. K. Hanks, and D. Greenstein An Eph receptor sperm-sensing control mechanism for oocyte meiotic maturation in Caenorhabditis elegans Genes & Dev., January 15, 2003; 17(2): 187 - 200. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				S.-W. Jin, N. Arno, A. Cohen, A. Shah, Q. Xu, N. Chen, and R. E. Ellis In Caenorhabditis elegans, the RNA-Binding Domains of the Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation Element Binding Protein FOG-1 Are Needed to Regulate Germ Cell Fates Genetics, December 1, 2001; 159(4): 1617 - 1630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P.-J. Chen, S. Cho, S.-W. Jin, and R. E. Ellis Specification of Germ Cell Fates by FOG-3 Has Been Conserved During Nematode Evolution Genetics, August 1, 2001; 158(4): 1513 - 1525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R Clifford, M. Lee, S Nayak, M Ohmachi, F Giorgini, and T Schedl FOG-2, a novel F-box containing protein, associates with the GLD-1 RNA binding protein and directs male sex determination in the C. elegans hermaphrodite germline Development, January 12, 2000; 127(24): 5265 - 5276. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P Chen and R. Ellis TRA-1A regulates transcription of fog-3, which controls germ cell fate in C. elegans Development, January 7, 2000; 127(14): 3119 - 3129. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T Karashima, A Sugimoto, and M Yamamoto Caenorhabditis elegans homologue of the human azoospermia factor DAZ is required for oogenesis but not for spermatogenesis Development, January 3, 2000; 127(5): 1069 - 1079. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y. M. Hajdu-Cronin, W. J. Chen, G. Patikoglou, M. R. Koelle, and P. W. Sternberg Antagonism between Goalpha and Gqalpha in Caenorhabditis elegans: the RGS protein EAT-16 is necessary for Goalpha signaling and regulates Gqalpha activity Genes & Dev., July 15, 1999; 13(14): 1780 - 1793. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				A. Puoti and J. Kimble The Caenorhabditis elegans Sex Determination Gene mog-1 Encodes a Member of the DEAH-Box Protein Family Mol. Cell. Biol., March 1, 1999; 19(3): 2189 - 2197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Kadyk and J Kimble Genetic regulation of entry into meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans Development, January 5, 1998; 125(10): 1803 - 1813. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Goodwin, K Hofstra, C. Hurney, S Mango, and J Kimble A genetic pathway for regulation of tra-2 translation Development, January 2, 1997; 124(3): 749 - 758. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Berry, B Westlund, and T Schedl Germ-line tumor formation caused by activation of glp-1, a Caenorhabditis elegans member of the Notch family of receptors Development, January 2, 1997; 124(4): 925 - 936. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I D Chin-Sang and A M Spence Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determining protein FEM-2 is a protein phosphatase that promotes male development and interacts directly with FEM-3. Genes & Dev., September 15, 1996; 10(18): 2314 - 2325. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A R Jones and T Schedl Mutations in gld-1, a female germ cell-specific tumor suppressor gene in Caenorhabditis elegans, affect a conserved domain also found in Src-associated protein Sam68. Genes & Dev., June 15, 1995; 9(12): 1491 - 1504. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Church, K. Guan, and E. Lambie Three genes of the MAP kinase cascade, mek-2, mpk-1/sur-1 and let-60 ras, are required for meiotic cell cycle progression in Caenorhabditis elegans Development, January 8, 1995; 121(8): 2525 - 2535. [Abstract] [PDF]