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Translational repression as a conserved mechanism for the regulation of embryonic polarity
Author(s) -
Curtis Daniel
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950161003
Subject(s) - biology , psychological repression , microbiology and biotechnology , embryonic stem cell , polarity (international relations) , mechanism (biology) , caenorhabditis elegans , untranslated region , translational regulation , genetics , messenger rna , gene , translation (biology) , gene expression , cell , philosophy , epistemology
The mechanisms used to establish embryonic polarity are still largely unknown. A recent paper (1) describes the expression pattern of the gene glp‐1 , which is required for induction events during development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Although glp‐1 RNA is found throughout the early embryo, Glp‐1 protein is only expressed in anterior cells. This negative translational regulation in posterior cells is shown to be mediated through sequences in the glp‐1 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR). Thus in nematodes, as in Drosophila, translational repression is one mechanism used to establish the embryonic anterior‐posterior axis.