A Crosstalk Between the RNA Binding Protein Smaug and the Hedgehog Pathway Links Cell Signaling to MRNA Regulation in Drosophila PDF Download

Author: Lucía Bruzzone
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Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression plays a critical role in a variety of cellular processes during development. RNA binding proteins are fundamental mediators of post-transcriptional regulations that control mRNA expression by recognizing specific cis acting elements within the target transcripts. Smaug is a highly conserved sequence specific RNA-binding protein that is essential during Drosophila early embryogenesis. Smaug binds Smaug Recognition Elements (SRE) in the target mRNA and recruits additional factors, via protein-protein interactions, that regulate the bound mRNA. An emergent concept that signaling pathways can modulate RBP activity by post-translation modifications adds a new layer in the control of gene expression. During my thesis work, I sought to understand how the Hedgehog pathway regulates Smaug by promoting its phosphorylation. My work shows that HH signaling downregulates Smaug protein levels affecting its ability to repress mRNA translation. This negative effect seems to be dependent on the interaction between Smaug and the HH signal transducer Smoothened. Moreover, Smaug is constitutively phosphorylated in its RNA binding domain, which appears to be necessary for cytoplasmic Smaug foci formation.