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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 140, Number 6, March 23, 1998 1321-1329
Division of Basic Sciences and Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,
Seattle, Washington 98109
Regulation of ribosome synthesis is an essential aspect of growth control. Thus far, little is known
about the factors that control and coordinate these processes. We show here that the Caenorhabditis elegans
gene ncl-1 encodes a zinc finger protein and may be a
repressor of RNA polymerase I and III transcription and an inhibitor of cell growth. Loss of function mutations in ncl-1, previously shown to result in enlarged
nucleoli, result in increased rates of rRNA and 5S RNA
transcription and enlarged cells. Furthermore, ncl-1
adult worms are larger, have more protein, and have
twice as much rRNA as wild-type worms. Localization
studies show that the level of NCL-1 protein is independently regulated in different cells of the embryo. In
wild-type embryos, cells with the largest nucleoli have
the lowest level of NCL-1 protein. Based on these results we propose that ncl-1 is a repressor of ribosome
synthesis and cell growth.
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