Résumé
The control of RNA stability is an important post-transcriptional event. While neural development is known to require proteins that bind AU-rich elements (ARE) and affect RNA half-life, the role of specific RNA stability in this process remains elusive. In the Drosophila embryo, glial fate acquisition is triggered by glial cells missing (gem) master gene, which is transiently expressed in all gliogenic stem cells and submitted to tight transcriptional regulation. By using in vitro and in vivo site directed mutagenesis, we have discovered that gem RNA is unstable and that its 3'UTR confers labile properties to RNA due to the presence of an ARE motif. Moreover, we show that the gliogenic potential of Gem transcription factor increases when ARE is abolished and demonstrate the importance of gem RNA stability in the acquisition of the glial fate. Thus, control of a single RNA half-life is crucial for nervous system differentiation. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.