Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24746798›Full record

ArticleCurrent biology : CB2014

Germ-granule components prevent somatic development in the C. elegans germline.

Dustin L Updike, Andrew Kekūpa'a Knutson, Thea A Egelhofer, Anne C Campbell, Susan Strome

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Current biology : CB, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
89citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

89 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Kinetochore components are perinuclear and form condensates inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
  7. eIF4E assembly intobioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. A mechanism for MEX-5-driven disassembly of PGL-3/RNA condensates in vitro.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. How germ granules promote germ cell fate.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2024
    Review
  15. Article
  16. PLK-1 regulates MEX-1 polarization in thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Dustin L UpdikeDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA; Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salisbury Cove, ME 04672, USA. Electronic address: dupdike@mdibl.org.
Andrew Kekūpa'a KnutsonDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
Thea A EgelhoferDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
Anne C CampbellKathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salisbury Cove, ME 04672, USA.
Susan StromeDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
University of California, Santa Cruz · USMount Desert Island Biological Laboratory · US

Funding

The Maine Biomedical Research Network (INBRE)P20GM103423 · NIGMS · MOUNT DESERT ISLAND BIOLOGICAL LAB · PI JAMES A COFFMAN · 2012 to 2026
$60.0M
Understanding the role of thyroid hormone signaling during axolotl limb regenerationP20GM104318 · NIGMS · MOUNT DESERT ISLAND BIOLOGICAL LAB · PI DRUMMOND, IAIN A. · 2013 to 2023
$23.0M
IMMUNOLOGIC STUDY OF GERM GRANULES IN C. ELEGANS EMBRY0SR01GM034059 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ · PI STROME, SUSAN · 1985 to 2020
$8.9M
Enhancing and expanding the CGC Strain CollectionP40OD010440 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Ann E. Rougvie · 2012 to 2026
$7.5M
UCSC Research Mentoring Internship Program: An Initiative to Increase Diversity and Inclusion in Genomics ResearchR25HG006836 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ · PI BROOKS, ANGELA NORIE, RAMON, MARINA L · 2013 to 2025
$3.7M
NHGRI NIH HHS R25 HG006836NIGMS NIH HHS GM34059NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM103423NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM104318NIGMS NIH HHS P20GM104318NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM034059NIH HHS P40 OD010440
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Specialized ribonucleoprotein organelles collectively known as germ granules are found in the germline cytoplasm from worms to humans [1]. In Drosophila, germ granules have been implicated in germline determination [2]. C. elegans germ granules, known as P granules, do not appear to be required for primordial germ cell (PGC) determination [3], but their components are still needed for fertility [4-6]. One potential role for P granules is to maintain germline fate and totipotency. This is suggested by the loss of P granules from germ cells that transform into somatic cell types, e.g., in germlines lacking MEX-3 and GLD-1 or upon neuronal induction by CHE-1 [7, 8]. However, it has not been established whether loss of P granules is the cause or effect of cell fate transformation. To test cause and effect, we severely compromised P granules by simultaneously knocking down factors that nucleate granule formation (PGL-1 and PGL-3) and promote their perinuclear localization (GLH-1 and GLH-4) [9] and investigated whether this causes germ cells to lose totipotency and initiate somatic reprogramming. We found that compromising P granules causes germ cells to express neuronal and muscle markers and send out neurite-like projections, suggesting that P granules maintain totipotency and germline identity by antagonizing somatic fate.

Indexed as

AnimalsCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsCytoplasmic GranulesDEAD-box RNA HelicasesGerm CellsNerve Tissue ProteinsRibonucleoproteinsRNA-Binding ProteinsRNA InterferenceRNA, Small InterferingTranscription FactorsCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsCHE-1 protein, C elegansDEAD-box RNA HelicasesGLD-1 protein, C elegansGLH-1 protein, C elegansMEX-3 protein, C elegansNerve Tissue ProteinsPGL-1 protein, C elegansPGL-3 protein, C elegansRibonucleoproteinsRNA-Binding ProteinsRNA, Small InterferingTranscription FactorsUNC-119 protein, C elegans

Identifiers

PMID24746798
PMCPMC4036631
OpenAlexW2051303735

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.