Landscape and regulation of mRNA translation in the early C. elegans embryo

Summary: Animal embryos rely on regulated translation of maternally deposited mRNAs to drive early development. Using low-input ribosome profiling combined with RNA sequencing on precisely staged embryos, we measure mRNA translation during the first four cell cycles of C. elegans development. We unc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yash Shukla, Vighnesh Ghatpande, Cindy F. Hu, Daniel J. Dickinson, Can Cenik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Cell Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725005492
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Summary:Summary: Animal embryos rely on regulated translation of maternally deposited mRNAs to drive early development. Using low-input ribosome profiling combined with RNA sequencing on precisely staged embryos, we measure mRNA translation during the first four cell cycles of C. elegans development. We uncover stage-specific patterns of developmentally coordinated translational regulation. Our results confirm that mRNA localization correlates with translational efficiency, though initial translational repression in germline precursors occurs before P-granule association. Our analysis suggests that the RNA-binding protein OMA-1 represses the translation of its target mRNAs in a stage-specific manner while indirectly promoting the translational efficiency of other transcripts. These findings illuminate how post-transcriptional mechanisms shape the embryonic proteome to direct cell differentiation, with implications for understanding similar regulation across species where maternal factors guide early development.
ISSN:2211-1247