Roles of the C. elegans cyclophilin-like protein MOG-6 in MEP-1 binding and germline fates

Abstract

The switch from spermatogenesis to oogenesis in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite requires mog-6, which post-transcriptionally represses the fem-3 RNA. In this study, we show that mog-6 codes for a divergent nuclear cyclophilin, in that a conserved domain is not required for its function in the sperm-oocyte switch. MOG-6 binds to the nuclear zinc finger protein MEP-1 through two separate domains that are essential for the role of MOG-6 in the sperm-oocyte switch. We propose that MOG-6 has a function distinct from that of prevailing cyclophilins and that its binding to MEP-1 is essential for germline sex determination. Finally, we found that gld-3 mog-6 mutants develop germline tumors, suggesting that mog-6 might function in the decision between mitosis and meiosis.