A stem–loop structure directs oskar mRNA to microtubule minus ends

mRNA transport coupled with translational control underlies the intracellular localization of many proteins in eukaryotic cells. This is exemplified in Drosophila, where oskar mRNA transport and translation at the posterior pole of the oocyte direct posterior patterning of the embryo. oskar localization is a multistep process. Within the oocyte, a spliced oskar localization element (SOLE) targets oskar mRNA for plus end-directed transport by kinesin-1 to the posterior pole. However, the signals mediating the initial minus end-directed, dynein-dependent transport of the mRNA from nurse cells into the oocyte have remained unknown. Here, we show that a 67-nt stem–loop in the oskar 3′ UTR promotes oskar mRNA delivery to the developing oocyte and that it shares functional features with the fs(1)K10 oocyte localization signal. Thus, two independent cis-acting signals, the oocyte entry signal (OES) and the SOLE, mediate sequential dynein- and kinesin-dependent phases of oskar mRNA transport during oogenesis. The OES also promotes apical localization of injected RNAs in blastoderm stage embryos, another dynein-mediated process. Similarly, when ectopically expressed in polarized cells of the follicular epithelium or salivary glands, reporter RNAs bearing the oskar OES are apically enriched, demonstrating that this element promotes mRNA localization independently of cell type. Our work sheds new light on how oskar mRNA is trafficked during oogenesis and the RNA features that mediate minus end-directed transport.