Journal of Andrology Testis Workshop 2009
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Published-Ahead-of-Print October 29, 2009, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.109.008292
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 31, No. 1, January/February 2010
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.109.008292

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
31/1/53    most recent
Author Manuscript (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Updike, D.
Right arrow Articles by Strome, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Updike, D.
Right arrow Articles by Strome, S.

Part 3 - Regulation of Germ Cell Development

P Granule Assembly and Function in Caenorhabditis elegans Germ Cells

DUSTIN UPDIKE AND SUSAN STROME

From the Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California.

Correspondence to: Dr Susan Strome, Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (e-mail: strome{at}biology.ucsc.edu).



Abstract

Germ granules are large, non–membrane-bound, ribonucleoprotein (RNP) organelles found in the germ line cytoplasm of most, if not all, animals. The term germ granule is synonymous with the perinuclear nuage in mouse and human germ cells. These large RNPs are complexed with germ line–specific cytoplasmic structures such as the mitochondrial cloud, intermitochondrial cement, and chromatoid bodies. The widespread presence of germ granules across species and the associated germ line defects when germ granules are compromised suggest that germ granules are key determinants of the identity and special properties of germ cells. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been a very fruitful model system for the study of germ granules, wherein they are referred to as P granules. P granules contain a heterogeneous mixture of RNAs and proteins. To date, most of the known germ granule proteins across species, and all of the known P granule components in C elegans, are associated with RNA metabolism, which suggests that a main function of germ granules is posttranscriptional regulation. Here we review P granule structure and localization, P granule composition, the genetic pathway of P granule assembly, and the consequences in the germ line when P granule components are lost. The findings in C elegans have important implications for the germ granule function during postnatal germ cell differentiation in mammals.

     Key words: Germ granules, nuage, chromatoid bodies






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2010 by The American Society of Andrology.