fbf-2 encodes an RNA-binding protein that is one of 11 C. elegans members of the PUF family (Pumilio and FBF) of translational regulators; FBF-2 is nearly identical to FBF-1 with which it is largely redundant in regulating two aspects of germline development: 1)maintenance of stem cell proliferation, and 2)the hermaphroditic switch between spermatogenesis and oogenesis; in maintaining germline stem cells, the FBF proteins, acting through NOS-3, negatively regulate the activity of gld-1 mRNA, which encodes a translational repressor required for meiotic entry; in regulating the sperm-to-oocyte switch, the FBFs act downstream of GLD-3 to negatively regulate the activity of fem-3 mRNA, which encodes a novel protein required for germline sex determination; consistent with their role in germline development, FBF-1 and FBF-2 are expressed in the germline cytoplasm, becoming enriched in the mitotic region during the L4 larval and adult stages.
Map position created from combination of previous interpolated map position (based on known location of sequence) and allele information. Therefore this is not a genetic map position based on recombination frequencies or genetic experiments. This was done on advice of the CGC.