Investigating how evolutionary changes in the nanos 3' UTR influences its function in germline development
Ahad Shabazz-Henry
Co-Presenters: Melissa Menzel, Kristina Spencer, Giselle Hidalgo, Adeeb Hayajneh, Dina Dokic, Lilac Bancairen, LisaMarie Gomez, Emma Bellars
College: The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology
Major: Biotechnology/Molecular Biology - STEM 5 Year B.S./M.S.
Faculty Research Mentor: Matthew Niepielko
Abstract:
The development and maintenance of the germline, the set of highly specialized cells responsible for passing on genetic material to the following generation, is essential for animal reproduction. Germline function and maintenance require the formation of highly conserved biomolecular condensates called germ granules. Germ granules contain many types of mRNAs and proteins that have important roles in germline differentiation, proliferation, and post-transcriptional gene regulation. Previously, we discovered a remarkable amount of natural diversity in the number of transcripts that accumulate within germ granules among species, which also reflected diversity in the number of coalesced primordial germ cells within their embryonic gonads, supporting a link between germ granule evolution and changes in germline development. In Drosophila, the accumulation of nanos (nos) within germ granules and its translational regulation requires the 3’ UTR, which displays significant diversity among species. Interestingly, replacing D. melanogaster’s nos 3’ UTR with other Drosophila species results in the increased presence of defective primordial germ cells, demonstrating a change in germ granule function. Given the 3’ UTR’s role in both the regulation of germ granule accumulation and translation, we tested whether the increased presence of defective primordial germ cells was caused by evolutionary changes in the 3’ UTR that impacted accumulation efficacy and/or translational regulation. We found that different species 3’ UTR’s reduced nos’s ability to accumulate within germ granules while translational regulation remained highly functional. Together, our findings show that translational regulation by the nos 3' UTR is more conserved than its role in localization, supporting a model where evolutionary changes that affect mRNA accumulation within biomolecular condensates, rather than translation control, influence condensate function.