Maternal RNA complexes in oocytes

我们的研究检查了母亲的卵子和发育中的胚胎之间发生的遗传信息的重要转移。 在受精之前，卵子经历一个称为卵子发生的过程。 卵母细胞，最终成为卵子，是一种高度特化的雌性生殖细胞系的单细胞，它进行某些过程，与精子的过程完全不同，用于生殖目的。 卵母细胞表达来自母亲母体基因组的大量基因，并传递给下一代胚胎。 胚胎接受来自男性（精子）和女性（卵子）的遗传信息。然而，在卵母细胞中，细胞基因表达的正常信息传递过程中存在关键差异，通常涉及将基因中的DNA信息转录为信使RNA分子，随后翻译为进行大量细胞过程的蛋白质。 在卵母细胞中，许多基因表达为RNA分子，但它们被储存很长一段时间，直到胚胎受精后才被释放用于翻译（因此，母亲的基因在后代中表达为蛋白质）。 20多年来，人们已经知道母体RNA储存在称为mRNP的多蛋白质储存颗粒中，但是对mRNP如何组装，组成它们的蛋白质和mRNA以及某些RNA在胚胎中选择性翻译成蛋白质的机制知之甚少。 我们对此进行了研究，重点是一种名为YY 1的蛋白质，我们将其鉴定为一种新型mRNP蛋白质。 我们使用青蛙卵母细胞和胚胎作为模型系统来研究mRNP的基本生物学，希望能推进我们对生命基本过程的认识。 具体目标：将采用各种生物化学和分子技术来确定YY 1如何与YY 1-mRNP复合物中的RNA相互作用，这些复合物中的RNA和其他蛋白质，YY 1在mRNP中的实际功能以及它在发育机制中的作用。

Our research examines an important transfer of genetic information that occurs between the mother's egg and the developing embryo. Before fertilization, the egg undergoes a process called oogenesis. The oocyte, which eventually becomes the egg, is a highly specialized single cell of the female germline that carries out certain processes, quite different that those of sperm, for the purposes of reproduction. The oocyte expresses a large amount of genes from the maternal genome of the mother that get passed onto the next generation embryo. The embryo receives genetic information from both male (sperm) and female (egg). However, in oocytes, there is a key difference in the normal information transfer process of cellular gene expression that usually involves trancription of DNA information in genes into messenger RNA molecules, and subsequent translation into proteins that carry out the bulk of cellular processes. In oocyes, many genes are expressed as RNA molecules but they are stored for very long periods and not released for translation until after fertilization in the embryo (thus, the mother's genes are expressed as proteins in the offspring). It has been known for over 20 years that maternal RNAs are stored in multi-protein storage particles called mRNPs, however very little is known about how mRNPs are assembled, the proteins and mRNAs of which they are composed, and the mechanisms by which certain RNAs are selectively translated into proteins in the embryo. We examine this, focussing on a protein called YY1, that we identified as a novel mRNP protein. We use frog oocytes and embryos as a model system to examine the basic biology of mRNPs with hope of advancing our knowledge of the fundamental processes of life. Specific aims: A variety of biochemical and molecular techniques will be employed to determine how YY1 interacts with RNAs in YY1-mRNP complexes, what RNAs and other proteins are in these complexes, what is the actual function of YY1 in mRNPs and what role it plays in the mechanism of development.