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Post-transcriptional regulation of the meiotic Cdc25 protein Twine by the Dazl orthologue Boule

Nature Cell Biology volume 1, pages 171–174 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Boule, a Drosophila orthologue of the vertebrate Dazl fertility factors, is a testis-specific regulator of meiotic entry and germline differentiation. Mutations inactivating either Boule, which is an RNA-binding protein, or Twine, which is a Cdc25-type phosphatase, block meiotic entry in males. Here we show that twine and boule interact genetically. We also find that protein expression from twine messenger RNA correlates with cytoplasmic accumulation of Boule and is markedly reduced by boule mutations. Remarkably, heterologous expression of Twine rescues the boule meiotic-entry defect, indicating that the essential function of Boule at the transition from G2 to M phase during meiosis is in the control of Twine translation.

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Figure 1: Phenotypic analysis of meiotic defects in twine spermatocytes.
Figure 2: Centrosome cycle analysis in twine spermatocytes.
Figure 3: Molecular genetic analyses of twine expression.
Figure 4: Expression of the twine–lacZ transgene and boule in wild-type and mutant testes.
Figure 5: Restoration of meiotic entry in boule mutants by heterologous Twine expression.

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Acknowledgements

We thank L. Alphey, H. White-Cooper, C. Lehner, T. Kaufman, B. Raff, M. Cheng and J. Allen for material assistance; and B. Wakimoto, D. Lindsley and C. Zuker for generating, characterizing, and sharing their collection of ethyl methyl sulphonate-induced male-sterile lines. This work was supported by an NIH postdoctoral fellowship (to J.Z.M.) and a grant from the Council for Tobacco Research (to S.A.W.).

Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.A.W.

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  1. Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0634, California, USA

    Jean Z. Maines & Steven A. Wasserman

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  1. Jean Z. Maines
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Correspondence to Steven A. Wasserman.

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Maines, J., Wasserman, S. Post-transcriptional regulation of the meiotic Cdc25 protein Twine by the Dazl orthologue Boule. Nat Cell Biol 1, 171–174 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/11091

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