|
||
Report |
Address correspondence to James Wilhelm, Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 115 West University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21210. Tel.: (410) 554-8192. Fax: (410) 243-6311. email: wilhelm{at}ciwemb.edu
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Key Words: oskar mRNA; oogenesis; Drosophila; Barentsz; eIF4E binding protein
Abbreviations used in this paper: Btz, Barentsz; eIF4E, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E; Exu, Exuperantia; Yps, Ypsilon Schachtel.
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
To identify new components of the oskar RNP complex, we previously purified an eight-protein complex that contains oskar mRNA (Wilhelm et al., 2000). In this study, we identify the 147-kD protein of this complex as the product of the female sterile gene cup. Surprisingly, cup is required both for translational repression and localization of oskar mRNA. We also demonstrate that Cup binds to eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and is necessary to recruit the localization factor Barentsz to the complex. Thus, Cup is a translational repressor of oskar that is required to assemble the oskar mRNA localization machinery. Because of its interactions with both the localization and translational control complexes, we propose that Cup is a likely regulatory target for the coupling machinery.
| Results and discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
-Cup antibody. Cup specifically coimmunoprecipitates with both GFP-Exu and Yps, demonstrating that Cup is a component of the complex (Fig. 1 B). cup was originally identified as a female sterile mutation that forms eggs that are open at the anterior due to a failure in chorion deposition at the anterior of the oocyte (Schupbach and Wieschaus, 1991; Keyes and Spradling, 1997). This previous work established that Cup is a cytoplasmic protein that is localized early to the oocyte (Keyes and Spradling, 1997). Since Cup copurifies with components of an oskar RNP complex, we decided to examine the distribution of Cup during oogenesis in more detail. Immunostaining of different stage egg chambers (see Spradling, 1993, for staging) revealed that Cup accumulates at the posterior of the oocyte during stages 16, consistent with previously published results (Fig. 1 C) (Keyes and Spradling, 1997). At stages 7 and 8, Cup was localized to the anterior of the oocyte (Fig. 1 D), followed by redistribution to the posterior of the oocyte during stages 9 and 10 (Fig. 1 E). Thus, Cup copurifies with components of the oskar RNP complex and is localized within the oocyte in a temporalspatial pattern identical to that of oskar mRNA.
One of the rationales for using GFP-Exu as a biochemical handle for the purification of localization complexes is that GFP-Exu forms particles in nurse cells that move in a microtubule-dependent manner (Theurkauf and Hazelrigg, 1998). Previously, we demonstrated that Yps, which binds directly to Exu, localizes to these motile particles (Wilhelm et al., 2000). To determine if Cup is also a component of these particles, we immunostained egg chambers for both Cup and Yps. The particulate staining observed for both Cup and Yps in the nurse cells showed a high degree of overlap, indicating that Yps and Cup are part of the same particles in vivo (Fig. 1, FH). Recently, a novel component of the oskar mRNA localization machinery, Btz, was identified that has a staining pattern that is strikingly similar to that of Cup (van Eeden et al., 2001). We immunostained egg chambers for both Cup and Btz to determine if they were also present in the same nurse cell particles. Most cytoplasmic particles contained both Cup and Btz (Fig. 1, IK). Interestingly, Btz protein that localized tightly to the nuclear rim did not display a large amount of overlap with Cup (Fig. 1 K), indicating that this pool of Btz might be part of a separate complex. Thus, Cup is present in motile RNP particles that contain Btz, a known component of the oskar mRNA localization machinery.
Cup is required for oskar mRNA localization.
Since Cup colocalizes and copurifies with components of the oskar RNP complex, we next asked if Cup plays a role in oskar mRNA localization. For this and subsequent experiments, we focused our attention on the heteroallelic combination of cup1/cup4506 since the combination of the strong cup4506 allele with the intermediate strength cup1 allele allowed oogenesis to proceed far enough to assay oskar mRNA localization. This allelic combination yielded results that were representative of other heteroallelic combinations (Fig. S1, available at http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/full/jcb.200309088/DC1) and also allowed us to minimize the effects of secondary mutations since cup1 and cup4506 were isolated in separate screens. In situ hybridization of oskar mRNA in cup1/cup4506 egg chambers revealed that although oskar mRNA localization is normal in stages 17 of oogenesis (Fig. 2, A and B, D and E), during stages 8- 10, oskar mRNA is predominantly cortical with some enrichment at the posterior pole (Fig. 2, C and F). This dispersed localization pattern is similar to that observed in weak alleles of btz where low levels of oskar mRNA are localized to the posterior pole (van Eeden et al., 2001).
|
Cup is required to maintain translational repression of oskar mRNA
Since all mutations isolated to date that disrupt oskar mRNA localization also block oskar translation, we next examined the role of cup in oskar translation. To our surprise, Oskar protein accumulated prematurely in the oocyte during stages 6 and 7 in cup1/cup4506 egg chambers, indicating that cup is required to translationally repress oskar mRNA during these stages (Fig. 3, A and B; Fig. S3, available at http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/full/jcb.200309088/DC1). It is also worth noting that in cup mutants we only observe accumulation of Oskar protein at those sites where oskar mRNA is most enriched (Fig. 3 B; Fig. S3). This may be due to the fact that the cup alleles used in this study are hypomorphic alleles. The effects of cup are specific for oskar mRNA since the localized translation of gurken mRNA at the dorsal anterior region of the oocyte during stage 9 is unaffected in a cup1/cup4506 mutant background (Fig. 3, C and D). Thus, cup is not a general translational regulator of localized messages.
|
|
Because Cup shares limited homology with 4E-T, a known eIF4E binding protein and a translational repressor in mammals (Dostie et al., 2000), we tested whether Cup binds to eIF4E using a two-hybrid interaction assay. This assay showed a direct interaction between Cup and eIF4E (Fig. 4 G). Cup interacted equally with both isoforms of eIF4E (unpublished data). Deletion analysis of Cup using the two-hybrid assay identified an eIF4E interaction domain that contains a canonical eIF4E binding motif (Fig. 4 H). This motif is found in eIF4G as well as translational repressors (e.g., 4E-T) that block translation by preventing the eIF4EeIF4G interaction (Mader et al., 1995). Thus, Cup is an eIF4E binding protein that acts directly to repress oskar translation.
Although mRNA localization in Drosophila has been the subject of extensive genetic analysis, only a few attempts have been made to characterize biochemically the proteins associated with localized messages. In this study, we have biochemically identified Cup as a novel component of the oskar RNP complex. This assignment is based on a number of findings. First, Cup copurifies with both Exu and Yps, which have both been shown to be in a biochemical complex with oskar mRNA. Second, Cup protein exhibits the same dynamic localization pattern as that seen for oskar mRNA as well as other components of the complex. Third, Cup colocalizes with Yps and Btz particles, indicating that this these proteins form a complex in vivo. Finally, the relevance of the biochemical association is supported by genetic studies of cup function, demonstrating a role for cup in translational repression of oskar mRNA as well as recruitment of Btz and eIF4E to the RNP complex.
A model for coupling oskar localization to translational derepression
Because Cup is a translational repressor that is also required to assemble the oskar mRNA localization machinery, we propose that the coupling between localization and translation occurs by regulating these two functions of Cup. In this model, Cup is required early in the assembly of the transport complex in order to recruit components, such as Btz, that will later be used to dock to kinesin (Fig. 5 A). This is consistent with our results that cup is required to localize Btz to the posterior pole and that cup mutants exhibit oskar mRNA localization defects comparable to those observed in btz mutants. The fact that mammalian Btz and 4E-T are nucleocytoplasmic shuttling proteins suggests that the defect in particle assembly in cup mutants may occur in the nucleus rather than in the cytoplasm (Dostie et al., 2000; Macchi et al., 2003). However, further studies will be necessary to determine the site of assembly.
|
Once the complex reaches the posterior pole, we argue that the localization machinery is disassembled and the interaction between Cup and eIF4E is broken to allow translational activation (Fig. 5 C). Because Cup is stably maintained at the posterior pole after stage 9, whereas Btz is not (this study; van Eeden et al., 2001), we propose that the trigger that disrupts the binding of Cup to eIF4E also leads to partial disassembly of the localization machinery via Cup. The molecular trigger for such rearrangements is unknown, however, the ability of 4E-T to bind eIF4E is regulated by phosophorylation (Pyronnet et al., 2001). Studies directed at identifying regulators of the CupeIF4E interaction might lead to greater mechanistic insights into the coupling mechanism.
One of the attractive features of this model is that it suggests how coupling might be accomplished in other systems. Recent work in neurons on the translational regulator CPEB suggests that it can promote the transport of mRNA into dendrites (Huang et al., 2003). Since CPEB represses translation by recruiting the eIF4E binding protein, maskin, to transcripts (Stebbins-Boaz et al., 1999), it is possible that the observed transport effect is due to a requirement for maskin to assemble the localization machinery. Thus, Cup may be representative of a general class of eIF4E binding proteins whose role is to couple mRNA localization to translational activation.
| Materials and methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Extract preparation, immunoblots, and immunoprecipitations
All protein work was performed as previously described (Wilhelm et al., 2000). For immunoblot analysis, primary antibodies were used at a 1:1,000 dilution of
-Cup rat antibody (Keyes and Spradling, 1997) or 1:1,000
-eIF4E rabbit antibody (a gift from P. Lasko, McGill University, Montréal, Canada).
Identification of p147
p147 was resolved by SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry performed as described (Wang et al., 1999).
Immunostaining and fluorescence microscopy
Immunostaining and microscopy was performed as previously described (Cox and Spradling, 2003) with the following modifications: the washes immediately following fixation consisted of PBT (1 x PBS, 0.2% Triton X-100). All subsequent washes or incubations were done in PBT + 5% BSA; primary antibodies were diluted in PBT + 5% BSA as follows: rat
-Cup 1:1,000 (Keyes and Spradling, 1997), rabbit
-Osk 1:3,000 (a gift from A. Ephrussi, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany), rabbit
-Btz 1:1,000 (van Eeden et al., 2001), rabbit
-Yps 1:1,000 (Wilhelm et al., 2000), 1:1 mouse
-Grk (1D12, Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank), rabbit
-eIF4E 1:1,000 (a gift from P. Lasko). The following secondary antibodies were used: goat
-rabbit and
-rat AlexaFluor488 (1:200) and goat
-rat AlexaFluor568 (1:200). Samples were mounted in Vectashield. Confocal analysis was performed using the PL APO40X 1.25NA and 100X 1.40NA objectives on the Leica TCS NT confocal microscope at 25°C.
In situ hybridization
In situ hybridization and detection were performed as described (Wilkie et al., 1999).
Two-hybrid analysis of cup and eIF4E
The Rf cassette (Invitrogen) was inserted into the two-hybrid vectors, pGADT7 and pGBKT7 (CLONTECH Laboratories, Inc.), to facilitate cloning via the Gateway cloning system (Invitrogen). The following deletion constructs were generated by PCR and were cloned into into the appropriate vector for analysis: CupA 1912 aa, CupB 1652 aa, CupC 1457 aa, CupD 1233 aa, CupE 233457 aa. Transformants were tested for positive interactions based on their ability to grow on leu- trp- his- ade- plates as described in the protocols for the Clontech matchmaker system (CLONTECH Laboratories, Inc.). The expression of all constructs was confirmed by immunoblot of yeast lysate with either
-myc (9E10) or
-HA (12CA5) antibodies.
Online supplemental material
Online supplemental figures are available at http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/full/jcb.200309088/DC1. Fig. S1 shows the effect of other heteroallelic combinations of cup on oskar mRNA localization and localization of Btz. Fig. S2 shows the localization of Yps and eIF4E in a variety of stages of cup1/cup45066 egg chambers. Fig. S3 shows oskar derepression in cup1/cup45066 egg chambers during stages 69.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
J. Wilhelm is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation.
Submitted: 12 September 2003
Accepted: 7 November 2003
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Bashirullah, A., R.L. Cooperstock, and H.D. Lipshitz. 1998. RNA localization in development. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 67:335394.[CrossRef][Medline]
Brendza, R.P., L.R. Serbus, J.B. Duffy, and W.M. Saxton. 2000. A function for kinesin I in the posterior transport of oskar mRNA and Staufen protein. Science. 289:21202122.
Cha, B.J., L.R. Serbus, B.S. Koppetsch, and W.E. Theurkauf. 2002. Kinesin I-dependent cortical exclusion restricts pole plasm to the oocyte posterior. Nat. Cell Biol. 4:592598.[Medline]
Cox, R.T., and A.C. Spradling. 2003. A Balbiani body and the fusome mediate mitochondrial inheritance during Drosophila oogenesis. Development. 130:15791590.
Dostie, J., M. Ferraiuolo, A. Pause, S.A. Adam, and N. Sonenberg. 2000. A novel shuttling protein, 4E-T, mediates the nuclear import of the mRNA 5' cap-binding protein, eIF4E. EMBO J. 19:31423156.[CrossRef][Medline]
Ephrussi, A., L.K. Dickinson, and R. Lehmann. 1991. Oskar organizes the germ plasm and directs localization of the posterior determinant nanos. Cell. 66:3750.[CrossRef][Medline]
Huang, Y.S., J.H. Carson, E. Barbarese, and J.D. Richter. 2003. Facilitation of dendritic mRNA transport by CPEB. Genes Dev. 17:638653.
Johnstone, O., and P. Lasko. 2001. Translational regulation and RNA localization in Drosophila oocytes and embryos. Annu. Rev. Genet. 35:365406.[CrossRef][Medline]
Keyes, L.N., and A.C. Spradling. 1997. The Drosophila gene fs(2)cup interacts with otu to define a cytoplasmic pathway required for the structure and function of germ-line chromosomes. Development. 124:14191431.[Abstract]
Kim-Ha, J., K. Kerr, and P.M. Macdonald. 1995. Translational regulation of oskar mRNA by bruno, an ovarian RNA-binding protein, is essential. Cell. 81:403412.[CrossRef][Medline]
Kim-Ha, J., J.L. Smith, and P.M. Macdonald. 1991. oskar mRNA is localized to the posterior pole of the Drosophila oocyte. Cell. 66:2335.[CrossRef][Medline]
Macchi, P., S. Kroening, I.M. Palacios, S. Baldassa, B. Grunewald, C. Ambrosino, B. Goetze, A. Lupas, D. St. Johnston, and M. Kiebler. 2003. Barentsz, a new component of the Staufen-containing ribonucleoprotein particles in mammalian cells, interacts with Staufen in an RNA-dependent manner. J. Neurosci. 23:57785788.
Mader, S., H. Lee, A. Pause, and N. Sonenberg. 1995. The translation initiation factor eIF-4E binds to a common motif shared by the translation factor eIF-4 gamma and the translational repressors 4E-binding proteins. Mol. Cell. Biol. 15:49904997.[Abstract]
Nakamura, A., R. Amikura, K. Hanyu, and S. Kobayashi. 2001. Me31B silences translation of oocyte-localizing RNAs through the formation of cytoplasmic RNP complex during Drosophila oogenesis. Development. 128:32333242.
Pokrywka, N.J., and E.C. Stephenson. 1995. Microtubules are a general component of mRNA localization systems in Drosophila oocytes. Dev. Biol. 167:363370.[CrossRef][Medline]
Pyronnet, S., J. Dostie, and N. Sonenberg. 2001. Suppression of cap-dependent translation in mitosis. Genes Dev. 15:20832093.
Saffman, E.E., S. Styhler, K. Rother, W. Li, S. Richard, and P. Lasko. 1998. Premature translation of oskar in oocytes lacking the RNA-binding protein bicaudal-C. Mol. Cell. Biol. 18:48554862.
Schupbach, T., and E. Wieschaus. 1991. Female sterile mutations on the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. II. Mutations blocking oogenesis or altering egg morphology. Genetics. 129:11191136.[Abstract]
Spradling, A.C. 1993. Developmental genetics of oogenesis. The Development of Drosophila melanogaster. Vol. 1. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Plainview, NY. 170.
Stebbins-Boaz, B., Q. Cao, C.H. de Moor, R. Mendez, and J.D. Richter. 1999. Maskin is a CPEB-associated factor that transiently interacts with elF-4E. Mol. Cell. 4:10171027.[CrossRef][Medline]
Theurkauf, W.E., B.M. Alberts, Y.N. Jan, and T.A. Jongens. 1993. A central role for microtubules in the differentiation of Drosophila oocytes. Development. 118:11691180.[Abstract]
Theurkauf, W.E., and T.I. Hazelrigg. 1998. In vivo analyses of cytoplasmic transport and cytoskeletal organization during Drosophila oogenesis: characterization of a multi-step anterior localization pathway. Development. 125:36553666.[Abstract]
van Eeden, F.J., I.M. Palacios, M. Petronczki, M.J. Weston, and D. St. Johnston. 2001. Barentsz is essential for the posterior localization of oskar mRNA and colocalizes with it to the posterior pole. J. Cell Biol. 154:511523.
Wang, K.H., K. Brose, D. Arnott, T. Kidd, C.S. Goodman, W. Henzel, and M. Tessier-Lavigne. 1999. Biochemical purification of a mammalian slit protein as a positive regulator of sensory axon elongation and branching. Cell. 96:771784.[CrossRef][Medline]
Wilhelm, J.E., J. Mansfield, N. Hom-Booher, S. Wang, C.W. Turck, T. Hazelrigg, and R.D. Vale. 2000. Isolation of a ribonucleoprotein complex involved in mRNA localization in Drosophila oocytes. J. Cell Biol. 148:427440.
Wilkie, G.S., A.W. Shermoen, P.H. O'Farrell, and I. Davis. 1999. Transcribed genes are localized according to chromosomal position within polarized Drosophila embryonic nuclei. Curr. Biol. 9:12631266.[CrossRef][Medline]
Related Article
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|