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Maternal Pumilio acts together with Nanos in germline development in Drosophila embryos

Nature Cell Biology volume 1, pages 431–437 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The maternal RNA-binding proteins Pumilio (Pum) and Nanos (Nos) act together to specify the abdomen in Drosophila embryos. Both proteins later accumulate in pole cells, the germline progenitors. Nos is required for pole cells to differentiate into functional germline. Here we show that Pum is also essential for germline development in embryos. First, a mutation in pum causes a defect in pole-cell migration into the gonads. Second, in such pole cells, the expression of a germline-specific marker (PZ198) is initiated prematurely. Finally, pum mutation causes premature mitosis in the migrating pole cells. We show that Pum inhibits pole-cell division by repressing translation of cyclin B messenger RNA. As these phenotypes are indistinguishable from those produced by nos mutation, we conclude that Pum acts together with Nos to regulate these germline-specific events.

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Figure 1: pum activity is essential in pole cells for their migration into the gonads and for gene regulation.
Figure 2: nos and pum activities are both required to prevent pole-cell division during pole-cell migration.
Figure 3: nos and pum activities are both required to prevent premature expression of cyclin B in pole cells.
Figure 4: Induction of cyclin B expression is able to drive quiescent pole cells into mitosis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Lehmann for nosBN, pumFC8 and pumMscflies; S. Larochelle for information about cell-cycle markers; and P. Lasko for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, by the Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance Project, by the Toray Science Foundation, by the Sumitomo Foundation, by a Research Project for Future Program from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and by the Hayashi Memorial Foundation for Female Natural Scientists.

Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.K.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Masashi Yamada

    Present address: Leica Microsystems K. K., East Tower 7F, Gate City Osaki, Oosaki 1-11-2, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 141-0032, Japan

  2. Miho Asaoka-Taguchi, Masashi Yamada and Satoru Kobayashi: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ten-noudai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Ibaraki, Japan

    Miho Asaoka-Taguchi, Masashi Yamada, Akira Nakamura, Kazuko Hanyu & Satoru Kobayashi

  2. Center for Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Ibaraki, Japan

    Miho Asaoka-Taguchi & Satoru Kobayashi

  3. Gene Experiment Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Ibaraki, Japan

    Satoru Kobayashi

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Correspondence to Satoru Kobayashi.

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Asaoka-Taguchi, M., Yamada, M., Nakamura, A. et al. Maternal Pumilio acts together with Nanos in germline development in Drosophila embryos. Nat Cell Biol 1, 431–437 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/15666

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