Publications by authors named "G Ruvkun"

Caenorhabditis elegans proliferates poorly in the presence of abundant Actinobacteria from its natural ecology, but it is unknown why. Here, we show how perturbed levels of hydrogen sulfide modulate the growth rate of both C. elegans and Actinobacteria.

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Article Synopsis
  • RNA interference (RNAi) is a critical antiviral defense mechanism found in various organisms, and mutations that improve RNAi have helped identify new regulatory pathways for this response.
  • A genetic study identified several mutations involved in enhancing RNAi, particularly those affecting inositol polyphosphate synthesis, which plays a role in mRNA and tRNA editing, indicating that RNA editing might normally temper RNAi activity.
  • The enhanced RNAi response activates the unfolded protein response (UPR) via the DRH-1 receptor and relies on primary siRNA production, with other mutants affecting mitochondrial defense pathways.
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Small RNA pathways regulate eukaryotic antiviral defense. Many of the mutations that were identified based on their enhanced RNAi, the synMuv B genes, also emerged from unrelated genetic screens for increased growth factor signaling. The dozen synMuv B genes encode homologues of the mammalian dREAM complex found in nearly all animals and plants, which includes the /retinoblastoma oncogene.

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The conserved SKN-1A/Nrf1 transcription factor regulates the expression of proteasome subunit genes and is essential for maintenance of adequate proteasome function in animal development, aging, and stress responses. Unusual among transcription factors, SKN-1A/Nrf1 is a glycoprotein synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). N-glycosylated SKN-1A/Nrf1 exits the ER and is deglycosylated in the cytosol by the PNG-1/NGLY1 peptide:N-glycanase.

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The mitochondrial proteome is comprised of approximately 1,100 proteins, all but 12 of which are encoded by the nuclear genome in C. elegans. The expression of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins varies widely across cell lineages and metabolic states, but the factors that specify these programs are not known.

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