1. SNPC-1.3 is a sex-specific transcription factor that drives male piRNA expression in C. elegans
- Author
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Maya A Hammonds, Emily Xu, Charlotte P Choi, Steven E. Jacobsen, John R. Yates, Rebecca J Tay, Taiowa A. Montgomery, John Kim, Suhua Feng, Margaret R. Starostik, James J. Moresco, Brooke E Montgomery, and Michael C. Schatz
- Subjects
Male ,0301 basic medicine ,sex determination ,piRNA ,TRA-1 ,Germline ,0302 clinical medicine ,Transcription (biology) ,Gene expression ,RNA, Small Interfering ,Biology (General) ,Caenorhabditis elegans ,General Neuroscience ,Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ,General Medicine ,Chromosomes and Gene Expression ,Cell biology ,DNA-Binding Proteins ,C. elegans ,Medicine ,Female ,transcription ,Research Article ,endocrine system ,QH301-705.5 ,Science ,Piwi-interacting RNA ,Biology ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Species Specificity ,Animals ,Gene silencing ,Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins ,Transcription factor ,germline development ,General Immunology and Microbiology ,urogenital system ,Genetics and Genomics ,biology.organism_classification ,spermatogenesis ,Germ Cells ,030104 developmental biology ,Gene Expression Regulation ,Ectopic expression ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Transcription Factors - Abstract
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) play essential roles in silencing repetitive elements to promote fertility in metazoans. Studies in worms, flies, and mammals reveal that piRNAs are expressed in a sex-specific manner. However, the mechanisms underlying this sex-specific regulation are unknown. Here we identify SNPC-1.3, a male germline-enriched variant of a conserved subunit of the small nuclear RNA-activating protein complex, as a male-specific piRNA transcription factor inCaenorhabditis elegans. SNPC-1.3 colocalizes with the core piRNA transcription factor, SNPC-4, in nuclear foci of the male germline. Binding of SNPC-1.3 at male piRNA loci drives spermatogenic piRNA transcription and requires SNPC-4. Loss ofsnpc-1.3leads to depletion of male piRNAs and defects in male-dependent fertility. Furthermore, TRA-1, a master regulator of sex determination, binds to thesnpc-1.3promoter and represses its expression during oogenesis. Loss of TRA-1 targeting causes ectopic expression ofsnpc-1.3and male piRNAs during oogenesis. Thus, sexually dimorphic regulation ofsnpc-1.3expression coordinates male and female piRNA expression during germline development.
- Published
- 2021
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