2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Roles of a transcriptional coactivator in the assembly of germ granules: a possible link between germ granule phase separation and mitochondrial homeostasis
Project/Area Number |
20K21430
|
Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
|
Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Review Section |
Medium-sized Section 44:Biology at cellular to organismal levels, and related fields
|
Research Institution | Kumamoto University |
Principal Investigator |
NAKAMURA AKIRA 熊本大学, 発生医学研究所, 教授 (90323245)
|
Project Period (FY) |
2020-07-30 – 2022-03-31
|
Keywords | ショウジョウバエ / 生殖細胞 / 生殖顆粒 / 転写コアクチベータ- |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Germ cells are the only cell type that transmits genetic information to the next generation. Germ cells contain a specialized organelle called germ granules, which play important roles in germ cell formation and maintenance. We have conducted a genetic screening to identify new maternal factors involved in germ cell formation, and recovered Spargel (srl), of which knockdown in oogenesis causes germ cell-less defects in the embryo. To examine how Srl is involved in germ cell development, we generated srl-null mutants. We found that Srl is a new maternal factor that plays an important role in the assembly of germ granules. The mammalian srl homolog is PGC-1, which is known to be involved in mitochondrial homeostasis. Thus far, we fail to obtain firm evidence whether or not Srl also plays a role in mitochondria homeostasis in the Drosophila ovary.
|
Free Research Field |
発生生物学
|
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
生殖細胞は、卵子や精子といった配偶子を産生する細胞種であり、有性生殖を通して遺伝情報を次世代に伝える役割を持つ。生殖細胞に生じた遺伝的変化のみが次世代に伝わることから、生殖細胞は生物種の連続性や進化に深く関わる重要な細胞種である。本研究では、ショウジョウバエをモデル動物として、生殖細胞形成に関わる新規因子の機能について解析を進めた。その結果、生殖細胞を特徴づけるオルガネラである生殖顆粒の動態を制御する転写制御因子Srlを同定することができた。Srlの哺乳類ホモログはミトコンドリアの機能を制御する遺伝子の発現に関わることから、生殖細胞形成とミトコンドリア動態とが関連している可能性が考えられる。
|