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Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 1999, p. 2189-2197, Vol. 19, No. 3
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The Caenorhabditis elegans Sex Determination Gene mog-1 Encodes a Member of the DEAH-Box Protein Family

Alessandro Puoti1,dagger and Judith Kimble1,2,3,4,*

Departments of Biochemistry1 and Medical Genetics,2 Laboratory of Molecular Biology,3 and Howard Hughes Medical Institute,4 University of Wisconsin---Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Received 31 August 1998/Returned for modification 4 November 1998/Accepted 8 December 1998

In the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite germ line, the sex-determining gene fem-3 is repressed posttranscriptionally to arrest spermatogenesis and permit oogenesis. This repression requires a cis-acting regulatory element in the fem-3 3' untranslated region; the FBF protein, which binds to this element; and at least six mog genes. In this paper, we report the molecular characterization of mog-1 as well as additional phenotypic characterization of this gene. The mog-1 gene encodes a member of the DEAH-box family. Three mog-1 alleles possess premature stop codons and are likely to be null alleles, and one is a missense mutation and is likely to retain residual activity. mog-1 mRNA is expressed in both germ line and somatic tissues and appears to be ubiquitous. The MOG-1 DEAH-box protein is most closely related to proteins essential for splicing in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but splicing appears to occur normally in a mog-1-null mutant. In addition to its involvement in the sperm-oocyte switch and control of fem-3, zygotic mog-1 is required for robust germ line proliferation and for normal growth during development. We suggest that mog-1 plays a broader role in RNA regulation than previously considered.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin---Madison, 433 Babcock Dr., Madison, WI 53706-1544. Phone: (608) 262-6188. Fax: (608) 265-5820. E-mail: jekimble{at}facstaff.wisc.edu.

dagger Present address: Institut de Zoologie, Université de Fribourg, Pérolles, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.


Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 1999, p. 2189-2197, Vol. 19, No. 3
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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