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[
Genes Dev,
2016]
Nucleotides are required in order to replicate DNA in the developing germline. Here, Chi and colleagues (pp. 307-320) have used Caernohabditis elegans to identify a GLP-1-dependent checkpoint that senses food (bacterially)-supplied nucleotide levels, arresting reproductive development in the absence of sufficient nucleotide supplies.
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[
Curr Biol,
2008]
Gene regulation often plays by different rules in the germline compared to the soma. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the spatial and temporal expression of germline genes is controlled post-transcriptionally via the 3'' UTR rather than transcriptionally via the promoter.
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[
Curr Biol,
2006]
Recent work has shown that components of the Wnt signaling pathway directly activate a homeodomain transcription factor so as to specify the cell fate that provides niche function to germline stem cells in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
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[
Curr Biol,
2015]
A pool of proliferating germline stem cells is essential for gamete production in Caenorhabditis elegans. A new study applies sophisticated live imaging to assess mitotic progression and cell cycle control in these cells, yielding new insights into stem cell division.
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[
Curr Biol,
2004]
Transcription is globally silenced in the germline of animals. Recent studies have shown that, in Caenorhabditis elegans, this silencing is initially mediated through direct repression, but in Drosophila, the factors involved include pgc, a non-coding cytoplasmic RNA. Why are these mechanisms so diverse and complex?
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[
Dev Cell,
2012]
Chromatin diminution during development generates cells with varying genetic content within the same organism. Two recent papers demonstrate that in two different systems chromatin diminution removes a considerable number of genes from somatic cells, thereby restricting their expression to the germline.
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[
Dev Cell,
2014]
In this issue of Developmental Cell, Drake and colleagues (2014) report that Ras signaling results in Dicer phosphorylation, which induces its nuclear localization and modulates its function. This regulatory strategy, conserved in mammals, allows dynamic control of microRNA function required for Caenorhabditis elegans germline development and oogenesis.
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Dev Cell,
2019]
Three recent studies (Dodson and Kennedy, 2019; Lev etal., 2019; Ouyang etal., 2019) reveal that germ granule formation is necessary to protect germline-expressed genes from improper small RNA-mediated silencing. Loss of this protection leads to accumulation of small RNAs, impacting gene expression in multiple subsequent generations.