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Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on October 8, 2006.
Genetics, Vol. 174, 1895-1906, December 2006, Copyright © 2006
doi:10.1534/genetics.106.063701
emb-4 Is a Conserved Gene Required for Efficient Germline-Specific Chromatin Remodeling During Caenorhabditis elegans Embryogenesis
Paula M. Checchi*,
and
William G. Kelly*,1
* Biology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 and Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
1 Corresponding author: Biology Department, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30322-3030.
E-mail: william.kelly{at}emory.edu
In C. elegans, germline blastomeres are initially kept transcriptionally quiescent by the maternally loaded CCCH zinc-finger protein PIE-1. PIE-1 disappears upon the birth of the primordial germ cells Z2 and Z3, yet these cells appear to remain quiescent. We have previously demonstrated that there is a chromatin-based repression that succeeds PIE-1 degradation. The chromatin in Z2/Z3 loses certain histone modifications, including histone H3 lysine 4 dimethylation (H3K4me2), a conserved marker for transcriptionally competent chromatin. We find that mutations in the maternal-effect gene emb-4 cause defects in both PIE-1 degradation and germline-specific chromatin remodeling. emb-4 encodes a highly conserved protein with orthologs in fly, mouse, and human and has a subtle role in Notch signaling. The embryonic phenotype of emb-4 is consistent with a defect in the efficient and timely activation of developmental programs, including germline chromatin remodeling. We also find that, as in early somatic blastomeres, the degradation of PIE-1 in Z2/Z3 is facilitated by zinc-finger-interacting protein ZIF-1, and in the absence of either zif-1 or emb-4, PIE-1 is abnormally retained in Z2/Z3.
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Genetics 2006 174: NP.
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