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The meiotic phosphatase GSP-2/PP1 promotes germline immortality and small RNA-mediated genome silencing.

Authors :
Katherine Kretovich Billmyre
Anna-Lisa Doebley
Maya Spichal
Bree Heestand
Tony Belicard
Aya Sato-Carlton
Stephane Flibotte
Matt Simon
Megan Gnazzo
Ahna Skop
Donald Moerman
Peter Mark Carlton
Peter Sarkies
Shawn Ahmed
Source :
PLoS Genetics, Vol 15, Iss 3, p e1008004 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2019.

Abstract

Germ cell immortality, or transgenerational maintenance of the germ line, could be promoted by mechanisms that could occur in either mitotic or meiotic germ cells. Here we report for the first time that the GSP-2 PP1/Glc7 phosphatase promotes germ cell immortality. Small RNA-induced genome silencing is known to promote germ cell immortality, and we identified a separation-of-function allele of C. elegans gsp-2 that is compromised for germ cell immortality and is also defective for small RNA-induced genome silencing and meiotic but not mitotic chromosome segregation. Previous work has shown that GSP-2 is recruited to meiotic chromosomes by LAB-1, which also promoted germ cell immortality. At the generation of sterility, gsp-2 and lab-1 mutant adults displayed germline degeneration, univalents, histone methylation and histone phosphorylation defects in oocytes, phenotypes that mirror those observed in sterile small RNA-mediated genome silencing mutants. Our data suggest that a meiosis-specific function of GSP-2 ties small RNA-mediated silencing of the epigenome to germ cell immortality. We also show that transgenerational epigenomic silencing at hemizygous genetic elements requires the GSP-2 phosphatase, suggesting a functional link to small RNAs. Given that LAB-1 localizes to the interface between homologous chromosomes during pachytene, we hypothesize that small localized discontinuities at this interface could promote genomic silencing in a manner that depends on small RNAs and the GSP-2 phosphatase.

Subjects

Subjects :
Genetics
QH426-470

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
15537390 and 15537404
Volume :
15
Issue :
3
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
PLoS Genetics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.46b4042dfcd148619e663021990ba73b
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008004