Maternal mRNAs are regulated by diverse P body-related mRNP granules during early Caenorhabditis elegans development.

Processing bodies (P bodies) are conserved mRNA-protein (mRNP) granules that are thought to be cytoplasmic centers for mRNA repression and degradation. However, their specific functions in vivo remain poorly understood. We find that repressed maternal mRNAs and their regulators localize to P body-like mRNP granules in the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line.

Direct interactions between the Paf1 complex and a cleavage and polyadenylation factor are revealed by dissociation of Paf1 from RNA polymerase II.

The Paf1 complex (Paf1, Ctr9, Cdc73, Rtf1, and Leo1) is normally associated with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) throughout the transcription cycle. However, the loss of either Rtf1 or Cdc73 results in the detachment of the Paf1 complex from Pol II and the chromatin form of actively transcribed genes. Using functionally tagged forms of the Paf1 complex factors, we have determined that, except for the more loosely associated Rtf1, the remaining components stay stably associated with one another in an RNase-resistant complex after dissociation from Pol II and chromatin.