Functional recovery of the germ line following splicing collapse.

Wei Cao, Christopher Tran, Stuart K Archer, Sandeep Gopal, Roger Pocock

Cell death and differentiation 2022 Apr

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Splicing introns from precursor-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) transcripts is essential for translating functional proteins. Here, we report that the previously uncharacterized Caenorhabditis elegans protein MOG-7 acts as a pre-mRNA splicing factor. Depleting MOG-7 from the C. elegans germ line causes intron retention in most germline-expressed genes, impeding the germ cell cycle, and causing defects in nuclear morphology, germ cell identity and sterility. Despite the deleterious consequences caused by MOG-7 loss, the adult germ line can functionally recover to produce viable and fertile progeny when MOG-7 is restored. Germline recovery is dependent on a burst of apoptosis that likely clears defective germ cells, and viable gametes generated from the proliferation of germ cells in the progenitor zone. Together, these findings reveal that MOG-7 is essential for germ cell development, and that the germ line can functionally recover after a collapse in RNA splicing. © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to ADMC Associazione Differenziamento e Morte Cellulare.

Citation

Wei Cao, Christopher Tran, Stuart K Archer, Sandeep Gopal, Roger Pocock. Functional recovery of the germ line following splicing collapse. Cell death and differentiation. 2022 Apr;29(4):772-787