pos-1 encodes a CCCH-type zinc-finger protein; during embryogenesis, maternally provided POS-1 is essential for proper fate specification of germ cells, intestine, pharynx, and hypodermis; POS-1's role in cell fate specification is likely as a translational regulator, as POS-1 is required, in posterior blastomeres, for positive regulation of apx-1 mRNA translation and negative regulation of glp-1 mRNA translation via direct binding to the spatial control region (SCR) in the glp-1 mRNA 3' UTR; in regulating mRNA translation, POS-1 interacts with SPN-4, an RNP-type RNA binding protein, that may function to negatively regulate POS-1 activity; POS-1 can also bind the mex-6 3'-UTR in vitro, although expression of a MEX-6 reporter fusion protein does not appear to be affected in pos-1 mutant animals; pos-1 mRNA is first detected in the gonads of L4 and adult animals, and is present uniformly in oocytes and newly fertilized embryos; during early embryonic divisions, pos-1 mRNA is present at higher levels in germline blastomeres until it disappears following the division of P4; POS-1 protein is first apparent at low levels in 1-cell embryos, with subsequent expression mirroring that of pos-1 mRNA: high levels in germline blastomeres until its disappearance after the P4 division; in the germline blastomeres P1, P2, P3, and P4, POS-1 colocalizes with cytoplasmic and perinuclear P granules.
Enables mRNA 3'-UTR binding activity; poly(U) RNA binding activity; and transcription corepressor activity. Involved in several processes, including cell fate specification; embryonic pattern specification; and negative regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Located in P granule. Expressed in several structures, including Psub4; germ line; neurons; oocyte; and rectal gland cell. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in breast cancer. Is an ortholog of human ZFP36 (ZFP36 ring finger protein); ZFP36L1 (ZFP36 ring finger protein like 1); and ZFP36L2 (ZFP36 ring finger protein like 2).
Map position created from combination of previous interpolated map position (based on known location of sequence) and allele information. Therefore this is not a genetic map position based on recombination frequencies or genetic experiments. This was done on advice of the CGC.