Cell子刊：基因表达调控新理念

　　

生物通报道，Howard Hughes医学研究所分子生物与遗传学研究实验室、Johns Hopkins医学研究院细胞动力学研究中心的科学家发现，秀丽隐杆线虫的3’UTRs是基因表达的初级调节因子。相关的成果发表在10月14号的Cell子刊Current Biology上。

 

 在生物学研究上，基因是如何通过调控机制表达成为细胞所需的特定蛋白类型，这一机制一直是科学界有待解决的问题。

 

对于多数基因来说，实现基因表达的调控是从DNA水平开始的，在DNA水平上，DNA序列的启动子是调节基因表达的第一个因子，启动表达是基因表达的第一步。基因表达的调控也发生在转录后，mRNA的3’UTRs是确保mRNA稳定和转录的调节因子。

 

秀丽隐杆线虫的生殖器官是研究发育过程中基因调控的最佳模型：成年秀丽隐杆线虫的生殖器里未分化的生殖细胞进入分化阶段，经历减数分裂后分化形成成熟的生殖配子。

 

研究者使用一种转基因检测芯片，在生殖细胞发育阶段对比启动子和3’UTR对生殖细胞的基因表达调控的影响作用。

 

研究者通过检测发现，与启动子相比3’UTR对基因表达的调节作用更强烈。这些结果表明，在生殖细胞发育过程中基因表达更依赖3’UTR的调控。

 

原文摘要：3′ UTRs Are the Primary Regulators of Gene Expression in the C. elegans Germline

 

【Summary】

How genes are regulated to produce the correct assortment of proteins for every cell type is a fundamental question in biology. For many genes, regulation begins at the DNA level with the use of promoter sequences to control transcription. Regulation can also occur after transcription using sequences in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the mRNA to affect mRNA stability and/or translation [1]. The C. elegans gonad is an excellent tissue to study gene regulation during development: In the adult, germ cells are arranged in order of differentiation, with undifferentiated progenitors at one end of the gonad, cells in meiotic prophase in the middle, and gametes at the other end [2]. Using a transgenic assay, we have compared the contribution of promoters and 3′ UTRs to gene regulation during germline development. We find that for most genes tested, 3′ UTRs are sufficient for regulation. With the exception of promoters activated during spermatogenesis, promoters are permissive for expression in all germ cell types (from progenitors to oocytes and sperm). In progenitors, 3′ UTRs inhibit the production of meiotic and oocyte proteins by posttranscriptional mechanisms involving PUF- and KH-domain RNA-binding proteins. Our findings indicate that many genes rely primarily on 3′ UTRs, not promoters, for regulation during germline development.