Université de Fribourg

Acr-23 encodes a Monepantel-sensitive channel in Caenorhabditis elegans

Rufener, Lucien ; Bedoni, Nicola ; Baur, Roland ; Rey, Samantha ; Glauser, Dominique A. ; Bouvier, Jacques ; Beech, Robin ; Sigel, Erwin ; Puoti, Alessandro

In: PLoS Pathog, 2013, vol. 9, no. 8, p. e1003524

Monepantel is a member of the recently identified class of anthelmintics known as the amino-acetonitrile derivatives (AADs). Monepantel controls all major gastro-intestinal nematodes in sheep including those that are resistant to the classical anthelmintics. Previous studies have shown that the Caenorhabditis elegans acr-23 and the Haemonchus contortus Hco-mptl-1 genes may be prominent targets of...

Université de Fribourg

The sperm-oocyte switch in the C. elegans hermaphrodite is controlled through steady-state levels of the fem-3 mRNA

Zanetti, Simone ; Grinschgl, Sonja ; Meola, Marco ; Belfiore, Marco ; Rey, Samantha ; Bianchi, Pamela ; Puoti, Alessandro

In: RNA, 2012, vol. 18, no. 7, p. 1385-1394

Post-transcriptional control regulates many aspects of germline development in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite. This nematode switches from spermatogenesis to oogenesis and is, therefore, capable of self-fertilization. This sperm-oocyte switch requires 3′ UTR-mediated repression of the fem-3 mRNA. Loss of fem-3 repression results in continuous spermatogenesis in hermaphrodites....

Université de Fribourg

Role of the C. elegans U2 snRNP protein MOG-2 in sex determination, meiosis, and splice site selection

Zanetti, Simone ; Meola, Marco ; Bochud, Arlette ; Puoti, Alessandro

In: Developmental Biology, 2011, vol. 354, no. 2, p. 232-241

In Caenorhabditis elegans, germ cells develop as spermatids in the larva and as oocytes in the adult. Such fundamentally different gametes are produced through a fine-tuned balance between feminizing and masculinizing genes. For example, the switch to oogenesis requires repression of the fem-3 mRNA through the mog genes. Here we report on the cloning and characterization of the sex determination...

Université de Fribourg

Different Mi-2 Complexes for Various Developmental Functions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Passannante, Myriam ; Marti, Claude-Olivier ; Pfefferli, Catherine ; Moroni, Paolo S. ; Kaeser-Pebernard, Stéphanie ; Puoti, Alessandro ; Hunziker, Peter ; Wicky, Chantal ; Müller, Fritz

In: PLoS ONE, 2010, vol. 5, no. 10, p. e13681

Biochemical purifications from mammalian cells and Xenopus oocytes revealed that vertebrate Mi-2 proteins reside in multisubunit NuRD (Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase) complexes. Since all NuRD subunits are highly conserved in the genomes of C. elegans and Drosophila, it was suggested that NuRD complexes also exist in invertebrates. Recently, a novel dMec complex, composed of dMi-2 and...

Université de Fribourg

The C. elegans sex determination protein MOG-3 functions in meiosis and binds to the CSL co-repressor CIR-1

Kasturi, Prasad ; Zanetti, Simone ; Passannante, Myriam ; Saudan, Zarifja ; Müller, Fritz ; Puoti, Alessandro

In: Developmental Biology, 2010, vol. 344, no. 2, p. 593-602

In the germ line of the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite, nuclei either proliferate through mitosis or initiate meiosis, finally differentiating as spermatids or oocytes. The production of oocytes requires repression of the fem-3 mRNA by cytoplasmic FBF and nuclear MOG proteins. Here we report the identification of the sex determining gene mog-3 and show that in addition to its role in gamete...

Université de Fribourg

The DEAD-box protein MEL-46 is required in the germ line of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Minasaki, Ryuji ; Puoti, Alessandro ; Streit, Adrian

In: BMC Developmental Biology, 2009, vol. 9, p. 35

Background: In the hermaphrodite of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the first germ cells differentiate as sperm. Later the germ line switches to the production of oocytes. This process requires the activity of a genetic regulatory network that includes among others the fem, fog and mog genes. The function of some of these genes is germline specific while others also act in somatic tissues....