![]() Recent studies have shown that some piRNA pathway proteins, including those that localise to the nuage, are regulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). Our results suggest that the Polo-mediated phosphorylation of Maelstrom may be a mechanism that controls oocyte determination by inactivating the pachytene checkpoint via the repression of Sir2 in Drosophila ovaries. We identify Polo as a kinase that mediates the phosphorylation of Maelstrom. ![]() Phosphorylation of Maelstrom is required for the repression of the pachytene checkpoint protein Sir2, but not for transposon silencing or for germline stem cell differentiation. In Drosophila, the conserved serine 138 residue in Maelstrom is required for its phosphorylation, an event that promotes oocyte determination. In this paper, we report another function of Maelstrom in regulating oocyte determination independently of its transposon silencing and germline stem cell differentiation activities. Maelstrom also functions in the nucleus as a transcriptional regulator to repress the expression of microRNA-7, a process that is essential for the proper differentiation of germline stem cells. In Drosophila, Maelstrom is a conserved component of the perinuclear nuage, a germline-unique structure that appears to serve as a site for Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) production to repress deleterious transposons.
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