Abstract
AbstractHow cells regulate gene expression in a precise spatiotemporal manner during organismal development is a fundamental question in biology. Recent studies have demonstrated the role of transcriptional condensates in gene regulation1–5. However, little is known about the function and regulation of these transcriptional condensates in the context of animal development and physiology. We found that the evolutionarily conserved DEAD-box helicase DDX-23 controls stem cell fate in C. elegans at least in part by binding to and facilitating the condensation of MAB-10, the C. elegans homolog of mammalian NAB protein. MAB-10 is a transcriptional cofactor that functions with the EGR protein LIN-29 to regulate the transcription of genes required for exiting the cell cycle, terminal differentiation, and the larval-to-adult transition6. We suggest that DEAD-box helicase proteins function more generally during animal development to control the condensation of NAB proteins important in cell-fate decisions and that this mechanism is evolutionarily conserved. In mammals, a comparable mechanism might underlie terminal cell differentiation and when misregulated might promote cancerous growth.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory