PUBLICATION

Hen1 is required for oocyte development and piRNA stability in zebrafish

Authors
Kamminga, L.M., Luteijn, M.J., den Broeder, M.J., Redl, S., Kaaij, L.J., Roovers, E.F., Ladurner, P., Berezikov, E., and Ketting, R.F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-101004-33
Date
2010
Source
The EMBO journal   29(21): 3688-3700 (Journal)
Registered Authors
den Broeder, Marjo, Kamminga, Leonie, Ketting, René
Keywords
germ line, Hen1, piRNA, Piwi, zebrafish
Datasets
GEO:GSE33582
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Blotting, Northern
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/cytology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Female
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Male
  • Methyltransferases/metabolism*
  • Methyltransferases/physiology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation/genetics
  • Oocytes/cytology*
  • Oocytes/metabolism
  • RNA 3' End Processing/physiology
  • RNA, Messenger/genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering/chemistry*
  • RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
  • RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism*
  • Retroelements
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Subcellular Fractions
  • Testis/cytology
  • Testis/metabolism
  • Uridine/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/growth & development
  • Zebrafish/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/physiology*
PubMed
20859253 Full text @ EMBO J.
Abstract
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are germ line-specific small RNA molecules that have a function in genome defence and germ cell development. They associate with a specific class of Argonaute proteins, named Piwi, and function through an RNA interference-like mechanism. piRNAs carry a 2'-O-methyl modification at their 3' end, which is added by the Hen1 enzyme. We show that zebrafish hen1 is specifically expressed in germ cells and is essential for maintaining a female germ line, whereas it is dispensable in the testis. Hen1 protein localizes to nuage through its C-terminal domain, but is not required for nuage formation. In hen1 mutant testes, piRNAs become uridylated and adenylated. Uridylation frequency is highest on retro-transposon-derived piRNAs and is accompanied by decreased piRNA levels and mild derepression of transposon transcripts. Altogether, our data suggest the existence of a uridylation-mediated 3'-5' exonuclease activity acting on piRNAs in zebrafish germ cells, which is counteracted by nuage-bound Hen1 protein. This system discriminates between piRNA targets and is required for ovary development and fully efficient transposon silencing.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping