bicoid mRNA localises to the Drosophila oocyte anterior by random Dynein-mediated transport and anchoring

  1. Vítor Trovisco
  2. Katsiaryna Belaya
  3. Dmitry Nashchekin
  4. Uwe Irion
  5. George Sirinakis
  6. Richard Butler
  7. Jack J Lee
  8. Elizabeth R Gavis
  9. Daniel St Johnston  Is a corresponding author
  1. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  2. University of Cambridge, Germany
  3. Princeton University, United States

Abstract

Mechanisms for mRNA localization are not well understood in vivo and studies of oskar and bicoid mRNAs have been very important in this regard. This paper builds on prior work by demonstrating that bicoid RNA is transported along microtubules by dynein. Surprisingly, this is not sufficient to account for its anterior localisation at early stages because transport is non-directional, indicating that the RNA must also be anchored specifically at the anterior. bicoid mRNA assembles into mRNP particles of characteristic size at all stages of oogenesis that may be important for its transport and anchoring. This provides a new mechanism for bicoid mRNA localization, suggests a particular role for mRNP particles, and further contributes important in vivo observations on which further hypotheses and studies can be built.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Vítor Trovisco

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Katsiaryna Belaya

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Dmitry Nashchekin

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Uwe Irion

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Germany
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-2823-5840
  5. George Sirinakis

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Richard Butler

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Jack J Lee

    Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Elizabeth R Gavis

    Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Daniel St Johnston

    The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
    For correspondence
    d.stjohnston@gurdon.cam.ac.uk
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-5582-3301

Funding

European Commission (Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Marie Curie Intraeuropean felowship, 236621)

  • Vítor Trovisco

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC/EURORNAQ , BB/F010303)

  • Daniel St Johnston

Darwin Trust Scholarship

  • Katsiaryna Belaya

Wellcome (Strategic Award, 095297)

  • George Sirinakis

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

© 2016, Trovisco et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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  1. Vítor Trovisco
  2. Katsiaryna Belaya
  3. Dmitry Nashchekin
  4. Uwe Irion
  5. George Sirinakis
  6. Richard Butler
  7. Jack J Lee
  8. Elizabeth R Gavis
  9. Daniel St Johnston
(2016)
bicoid mRNA localises to the Drosophila oocyte anterior by random Dynein-mediated transport and anchoring
eLife 5:e17537.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17537

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.17537

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