Dual Inhibition of MYRF Cleavage by Its JM Region and PAN-1 CCT Gates Developmental Timing in C. elegans

Abstract

Post-embryonic development proceeds through discrete stages, yet the mechanisms that coordinate transitions between stages remain incompletely defined. The transmembrane transcription factor MYRF undergoes intramolecular cleavage to release a nuclear-localized fragment essential for developmental progression in C. elegans. Previously, we showed that PAN-1 as a key partner required for MYRF activity during development. PAN-1 promotes MYRF trafficking to the cell membrane--an essential step for MYRF cleavage--through interactions between their extracellular domains (Xia et al., 2021). Here, we show that MYRF-1 cleavage and nuclear translocation oscillate with larval stage transitions in C. elegans, peaking mid-to-late stage and being suppressed during molts. Using endogenous gene editing and mutant reporters, we identify an uncharacterized juxtamembrane (JM) region in MYRF-1 that self-inhibits cleavage. JM deletion triggers premature MYRF-1 nuclear entry, early lin-4 activation, growth defects, and adult lethality. We further demonstrate that the cytoplasmic tail (CCT) of the transmembrane protein PAN-1 acts as a predominant trans-inhibitor of MYRF-1 cleavage, coupling extracellular association with cytoplasmic inhibition. PAN-1 CCT deletion causes near-constitutive MYRF-1 nuclear accumulation, leading to premature lin-4 activation, accelerated M-cell division, and larval lethality. Removing these inhibitory mechanisms on MYRF-1 cleavage overrides nutrient-responsive developmental checkpoints. These findings uncover dual inhibitory mechanisms governing MYRF-1 cleavage and establish MYRF-1 cleavage as a key gatekeeper of developmental timing.