Drosophila Maelstrom Ensures Proper Germline Stem Cell Lineage Differentiation by Repressing microRNA-7

Pek, Jun Wei; Lim, Ai Khim; Kai, Toshie

doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2009.07.017

Cited by 101 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(61 reference statements)

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“…The requirement for microRNA pathway components in the testis has not been determined, but one specific microRNA, miR-7, could play a role in GSC maintenance. miR-7 targets the 3ЈUTR of bam mRNA and represses its expression (Pek et al, 2009). miR-7 expression is repressed by Maelstrom (Mael), which is required for differentiation of the GSC lineage.…”

Section: Stem Cells Are Regulated By Micrornasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…miR-7 expression is repressed by Maelstrom (Mael), which is required for differentiation of the GSC lineage. In mael mutants, GSCs are unaffected, but spermatogonia fail to upregulate Bam, differentiate abnormally and often revert to GSCs (Pek et al, 2009). These results suggest that microRNAs promote stem cell maintenance by repressing specific differentiation factors, such as Bam, and that microRNAs are themselves tightly regulated in stem cell lineages.…”

Section: Stem Cells Are Regulated By Micrornasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The stem cell niche: lessons from theDrosophilatestis

Cuevas¹,

Matunis²

2011

Development

196

231

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SummaryIn metazoans, tissue maintenance and regeneration depend on adult stem cells, which are characterized by their ability to selfrenew and generate differentiating progeny in response to the needs of the tissues in which they reside. In the Drosophila testis, germline and somatic stem cells are housed together in a common niche, where they are regulated by local signals, epigenetic mechanisms and systemic factors. These stem cell populations in the Drosophila testis have the unique advantage of being easy to identify and manipulate, and hence much progress has been made in understanding how this niche operates. Here, we summarize recent work on stem cells in the adult Drosophila testis and discuss the remarkable ability of these stem cells to respond to change within the niche.

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Section: Stem Cells Are Regulated By Micrornasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stem Cells Are Regulated By Micrornasmentioning

confidence: 99%

The stem cell niche: lessons from theDrosophilatestis

Cuevas¹,

Matunis²

2011

Development

196

231

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Aravin & Bourc'his (2008) reported that a mutation in the Mili and Miwi2 genes led to the elimination of transposable elements in DNA methylation and sterility in male rats. Another Piwi pathway gene, namely Mael, was found to be vital for the correct differentiation of GSC in Drosophila and vertebrates (Pek et al 2009). It has been indicated that Miwi and Mili were both essential for the meiotic process and play a significant role in controlling transposons in the male germline (KuramochiMiyagawa et al 2008).…”

Section: Mutations In the Pirna Pathway Genes Lead To Germline-specifmentioning

confidence: 99%

MOV10L1 in piRNA processing and gene silencing of retrotransposons during spermatogenesis

Zhu

Zhi

2015

Reproduction

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Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a broad group of non-coding small RNAs with important biological functions in germline cells. It is well known that piRNAs can maintain genome integrity via silencing retrotransposons. Previous studies on the animal models harboring gene deletions have shown that the genes involved in piRNA biogenesis and their defective expression can result in the spermatogenic dysfunction. In the past decade, significant progress has been achieved for piRNAs and their roles in male germ cells. This review addresses the advances on piRNAs and piRNA biogenesis-associated genes, with a particular focus on the Moloney leukemia virus 10-like 1 (MOV10L1) gene, whose role in primary piRNA processing and in the 'ping-pong' cycle during secondary piRNA processing has been illustrated. The biological characteristics of piRNA has been summarized, and emphasis was laid on the roles of MOV10L1 in the mediation of piRNA biogenesis and retrotransposons silencing by DNA methylation. Furthermore, the association between MOV10L1 gene polymorphisms and complete maturation arrest in men has been discussed. Hence, thorough literature review was conducted in order to obtain a greater understanding of the function of MOV10L1 and its mechanisms underlying spermatogenesis in mice and humans. Free Chinese abstract: A Chinese translation of this abstract is freely available at

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“…Any such role linked to chromatin may not be conserved as Maelstrom is also expressed in the Bombyx BmN4 cells that clearly lack a nuclear Piwi pathway (Xiol et al 2014). Furthermore, Maelstrom is shown to associate with components of the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) (Sato et al 2011) and transcriptionally repress microRNA-7 in fly ovaries (Pek et al 2009). Finally, in the mouse male germline Maelstrom binds primary piRNA precursors and Piwi proteins, and mael mutants display reduced piRNA levels, indicating a role in piRNA biogenesis (Castaneda et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metazoan Maelstrom is an RNA-binding protein that has evolved from an ancient nuclease active in protists

Chen

Campbell

Pandey

et al. 2015

RNA

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Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) guide Piwi argonautes to their transposon targets for silencing. The highly conserved protein Maelstrom is linked to both piRNA biogenesis and effector roles in this pathway. One defining feature of Maelstrom is the predicted MAEL domain of unknown molecular function. Here, we present the first crystal structure of the MAEL domain from Bombyx Maelstrom, which reveals a nuclease fold. The overall architecture resembles that found in Mg 2+ -or Mn 2+ -dependent DEDD nucleases, but a clear distinguishing feature is the presence of a structural Zn 2+ ion coordinated by the conserved ECHC residues. Strikingly, metazoan Maelstrom orthologs across the animal kingdom lack the catalytic DEDD residues, and as we show for Bombyx Maelstrom are inactive as nucleases. However, a MAEL domain-containing protein from amoeba having both sequence motifs (DEDD and ECHC) is robustly active as an exoribonuclease. Finally, we show that the MAEL domain of Bombyx Maelstrom displays a strong affinity for single-stranded RNAs. Our studies suggest that the ancient MAEL nuclease domain evolved to function as an RNA-binding module in metazoan Maelstrom.

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Drosophila Maelstrom Ensures Proper Germline Stem Cell Lineage Differentiation by Repressing microRNA-7

Cited by 101 publications

References 43 publications

The stem cell niche: lessons from theDrosophilatestis

The stem cell niche: lessons from theDrosophilatestis

MOV10L1 in piRNA processing and gene silencing of retrotransposons during spermatogenesis

Metazoan Maelstrom is an RNA-binding protein that has evolved from an ancient nuclease active in protists

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