GTSF-1 is required for formation of a functional RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase complex in Caenorhabditis elegans

We report that GTSF-1 is not required for Piwi-mediated gene silencing. Instead, gtsf-1 mutants show a striking depletion of 26G-RNAs, a class of endogenous sRNAs, fully phenocopying rrf-3 mutants. We show, both in vivo and in vitro, that GTSF-1 interacts with RRF-3 via its CHHC zinc fingers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that GTSF-1 is required for the assembly of a larger RRF-3 and DCR-1-containing complex (ERIC), thereby allowing for 26G-RNA generation. We propose that GTSF-1 homologs may act to drive the assembly of larger complexes that act in sRNA production and/or in imposing sRNA-mediated silencing activities.

Source: EMBO Journal - June 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Almeida, M. V., Dietz, S., Redl, S., Karaulanov, E., Hildebrandt, A., Renz, C., Ulrich, H. D., König, J., Butter, F., Ketting, R. F. Tags: Development & Differentiation, RNA Biology Articles Source Type: research