Taming the giant within

[...]to blanks’s role in transcriptional efficacy in Y-loop B, heph mutants showed little change in nuclear RNA-FISH signals for kl-5 transcripts in Y-loop A. However, late SCs in heph mutant testes rarely displayed cytoplasmic granules containing kl-5, suggesting that heph function may be important for a posttranscriptional step of kl-5 RNA processing. [...]exploration of this system may uncover other relevant players, with blanks and heph representing just part of a larger genetic program. Heph is required for a posttranscriptional step, such as RNA splicing, export, or stabilization, to permit accumulation of mature transcripts from fertility genes kl-3, kl-5, and ks-1 in cytoplasmic granules. pol II, RNA polymerase II; SC, spermatocyte. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008098.g001 The study by Fingerhut and colleagues provides an early glimpse on how giant introns are dealt with during Drosophila spermatogenesis. Given the many hours required to complete transcription of each fertility gene, the authors speculate that they could function as developmental timers, perhaps ensuring that the interphase of SC development is sufficiently long to complete the cell growth and chromosome dynamics required prior to meiosis.