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General Comment |
Shimada M, et al 2002 reported that novel family of CCCH-type zinc-finger proteins, MOE-1,-2 and-3,
participates in C-elegans oocyte maturation.
Oocyte maturation is an important prerequisite for the production
of progeny. Although several germ-line mutations have been reported, the
precise mechanism by which the last step of oocyte maturation is controlled
remains unclear. In Caenorhabditis elegans , CCCH-type zinc-finger proteins
have been shown to be involved in germ cell formation, although their
involvement in oocyte maturation has not been fully investigated.
Using a multiple RNAi technique, the authors have identified three novel
redundant CCCH-type zinc-finger genes, named by us moe-1 , -2 (oma-1 , -2 )
and moe-3 , as a group related by functions and nucleotide sequence. Although
a single RNAi of each moe gene was not effective, double or triple RNAi
induced defects in oocyte maturation. Each moe transcript was
expressed from the distal to proximal region of the gonad, while their
corresponding proteins are accumulated exclusively in proximal oocytes, with a
close association to germ granules. Although MOE-2 protein is rapidly removed
from germ granules after fertilization, MOE-2 associates with
the centrosome-peripheral structure in dividing blastomeres.
The results suggest that moe gene products are unique
multifunctional proteins in terms of their redundancy and characteristic
behaviour during the course of oocyte maturation. These gene products
participate in processes in the final step of the meiotic cell cycle control,
a novel function for CCCH-type zinc-finger family proteins thus far
discovered.
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