ELAV mediates 3′ UTR extension in the Drosophila nervous system

Valérie Hilgers, Sandra B. Lemke, Michael Levine

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

82 Scopus citations

Abstract

Post-transcriptional gene regulation is prevalent in the nervous system, where multiple tiers of regulatory complexity contribute to the development and function of highly specialized cell types. Whole-genome studies in Drosophila have identified several hundred genes containing long 3′ extensions in neural tissues. We show that ELAV (embryonic-lethal abnormal visual system) is a key mediator of these neural-specific extensions. Misexpression of ELAV results in the ectopic synthesis of long messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in transgenic embryos. RNA immunoprecipitation assays suggest that ELAV directly binds the proximal polyadenylation signals of many target mRNAs. Finally, ELAV is sufficient to suppress 3′ end formation at a strong polyadenylation signal when tethered to a synthetic RNA. We propose that this mechanism for coordinating 3′ UTR extension may be generally used in a variety of cellular processes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2259-2264
Number of pages6
JournalGenes and Development
Volume26
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2012
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics
  • Developmental Biology

Keywords

  • 3′ UTR
  • Alternative polyadenylation
  • ELAV
  • Extension
  • Nervous system
  • Post-transcriptional regulation

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