The Embryonic mir-35 Family of microRNAs Promotes Multiple Aspects of Fecundity in Caenorhabditis elegans

摘要

MicroRNAs guide many aspects of development in all metazoan species. Frequently, microRNAs are expressed during a specific developmental stage to perform a temporally defined function. The C. elegans -42 microRNAs are expressed abundantly in oocytes and early embryos and are essential for embryonic development. Here, we show that these embryonic microRNAs surprisingly also function to control the number of progeny produced by adult hermaphrodites. Using a temperature-sensitive -42 family mutant (a deletion of the -41 cluster), we demonstrate three distinct defects in hermaphrodite fecundity. At permissive temperatures, a mild sperm defect partially reduces hermaphrodite fecundity. At restrictive temperatures, somatic gonad dysfunction combined with a severe sperm defect sharply reduces fecundity. Multiple lines of evidence, including a late embryonic temperature-sensitive period, support a role for -41 early during development to promote subsequent sperm production in later larval stages. We further show that the predicted family target (suppressor-26) acts downstream of -41 in this process, suggesting that sup-26 de-repression in -41 deletion mutants may contribute to temperature-sensitive loss of fecundity. In addition, these microRNAs play a role in male fertility, promoting proper morphogenesis of male-specific mating structures. Overall, our results demonstrate that robust activity of the -42 family microRNAs not only is essential for embryonic development across a range of temperatures but also enables the worm to subsequently develop full reproductive capacity.