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MRT-2 checkpoint protein is required for germline immortality and telomere replication in C. elegans

Author

Listed:
  • Shawn Ahmed

    (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

  • Jonathan Hodgkin

    (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

Abstract

The germ line is an immortal cell lineage that is passed indefinitely from one generation to the next. To identify the genes that are required for germline immortality, we isolated Caenorhabditis elegans mutants with mortal germ lines—worms that can reproduce for several healthy generations but eventually become sterile. One of these mortal germline (mrt ) mutants, mrt-2, exhibits progressive telomere shortening and accumulates end-to-end chromosome fusions in later generations, indicating that the MRT-2 protein is required for telomere replication. In addition, the germ line of mrt-2 is hypersensitive to X-rays and to transposon activity. Therefore, mrt-2 has defects in responding both to damaged DNA and to normal double-strand breaks present at telomeres. mrt-2 encodes a homologue of a checkpoint gene that is required to sense DNA damage in yeast. These results indicate that telomeres may be identified as a type of DNA damage and then repaired by the telomere-replication enzyme telomerase.

Suggested Citation

  • Shawn Ahmed & Jonathan Hodgkin, 2000. "MRT-2 checkpoint protein is required for germline immortality and telomere replication in C. elegans," Nature, Nature, vol. 403(6766), pages 159-164, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:403:y:2000:i:6766:d:10.1038_35003120
    DOI: 10.1038/35003120
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    Cited by:

    1. Najmeh Soltanmohammadi & Siyao Wang & Björn Schumacher, 2022. "Somatic PMK-1/p38 signaling links environmental stress to germ cell apoptosis and heritable euploidy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Alice Rouan & Melanie Pousse & Nadir Djerbi & Barbara Porro & Guillaume Bourdin & Quentin Carradec & Benjamin CC. Hume & Julie Poulain & Julie Lê-Hoang & Eric Armstrong & Sylvain Agostini & Guillem Sa, 2023. "Telomere DNA length regulation is influenced by seasonal temperature differences in short-lived but not in long-lived reef-building corals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.

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