Spatio-temporally regulated maternal RNA decay factor essential for zebrafish development
- 1Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Abstract
Maternal mRNA decay is essential for the Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition (MZT), yet its impact on spatial regulation has remained largely unexplored. We identify Cth1 as the first maternally encoded RNA-decay factor regulated in a spatiotemporal manner outside the germline in zebrafish, driven by conserved 3'UTR cis-elements. RfxCas13-dmediated depletion of maternal cth1 revealed early developmental defects that could not be assessed with SpyCas9 mutants due to infertility from impaired gametogenesis. Mechanistically, Cth1 acts independently of zygotic genome activation, recognizing AUrich motifs in maternal 3'UTRs to promote deadenylation and decay in a spatio-temporal manner; deletion of these motifs or depletion of Cth1 stabilizes both reporter and endogenous transcripts. These findings establish Cth1 as a key component of the maternal program and provide the first direct evidence that spatio-temporally regulated mRNA decay, outside the germline, contributes to early vertebrate development.
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BibTeX
@misc{kushawah2026spatiotemporally,
title = {{Spatio-temporally regulated maternal RNA decay factor essential for zebrafish development}},
author = {G. Kushawah and V. D. Aldas Bulos and D. Baia Amaral and H. Hassan and S. H. Nowotarski and A. A. Bazzini},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.20.745964},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.20.745964v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Spatio-temporally regulated maternal RNA decay factor essential for zebrafish development
AU - G. Kushawah
AU - V. D. Aldas Bulos
AU - D. Baia Amaral
AU - H. Hassan
AU - S. H. Nowotarski
AU - A. A. Bazzini
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/20
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.20.745964
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.20.745964v2
AB - Maternal mRNA decay is essential for the Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition (MZT), yet its impact on spatial regulation has remained largely unexplored. We identify Cth1 as the first maternally encoded RNA-decay factor regulated in a spatiotemporal manner outside the germline in zebrafish, driven by conserved 3'UTR cis-elements. RfxCas13-dmediated depletion of maternal cth1 revealed early developmental defects that could not be assessed with SpyCas9 mutants due to infertility from impaired gametogenesis. Mechanistically, Cth1 acts independently of zygotic genome activation, recognizing AUrich motifs in maternal 3'UTRs to promote deadenylation and decay in a spatio-temporal manner; deletion of these motifs or depletion of Cth1 stabilizes both reporter and endogenous transcripts. These findings establish Cth1 as a key component of the maternal program and provide the first direct evidence that spatio-temporally regulated mRNA decay, outside the germline, contributes to early vertebrate development.
ER -