Probable RNA-binding protein that negatively regulates the translation of targets (PubMed:15342467, PubMed:27689799). Functions with RNA-binding protein szy-20 to ensure embryonic cell division, and to this end, plays a role in the regulation of centrosome assembly, position and size, and in astral microtubule outgrowth and nucleation (PubMed:27689799). Required for gonad development, germ cell proliferation and for the production of oocytes (PubMed:15514056, PubMed:11303786, PubMed:15342467). Regulates whole body growth and fat accumulation in response to food availability, and this may be through the mTOR pathway, upstream of daf-15 and rheb-1 (PubMed:27457958). Interacts (via C-terminus) with szy-20 (via C-terminus); the interaction is RNA independent (PubMed:27689799). Interacts with pab-1 (PubMed:15342467). Interacts with gdi-1 (PubMed:27457958). Co-localizes with szy-20 and pab-1 in the cytoplasm. Expressed in the central nervous system, dorsal and ventral nerve chord, intestinal lining and body-wall muscle (PubMed:11303786). Expressed in the gonad (PubMed:15342467). Expressed in 4-cell stage embryos and during larval stages L3 and L4. The C-terminal part is necessary for interaction with szy-20. Sterile, however growth rate, size and fat accumulation are not altered in response to a restricted diet in contrast to wild-type animals under the same conditions (PubMed:27457958). RNAi-mediated knockdown results in embryonic lethality as a result of cell division defects at the one-cell stage (PubMed:27689799). Cell division defects include polar body extrusion failure, abnormal spindle positioning, chromosome missegregation and cytokinesis failure (PubMed:27689799). One-cell embryos also have enlarged centrosomes and microtubule growth defects characterized by increased microtubule nucleation, short astral microtubules and elevated expression levels of zyg-1, which is involved in centriole duplication, and tbg-1, a pericentriolar materials factor involved in microtubule nucleation (PubMed:27689799). In other contrasting studies, RNAi-mediated knockdown at the L4 stage of larval development, results in the initial production of viable progeny, that with continued RNAi exposure, grow into sterile adults in which germ cells have a proliferation defect that leads to a reduced sized gonad containing large quantities of sperm and no oocytes (PubMed:15514056, PubMed:15342467). The masculinization of the germline phenotype (also called the Mog phenotype) is likely due to altered activity of the translational repressor gld-1 in these mutants and the translational repression of 'feminizing' genes including tra-2 and rme-2 (PubMed:15342467). RNAi-mediated knockdown in both arms of the syncytial gonad of adult hermaphrodites results in the production of 95% fewer eggs than wild-type and of the eggs produced, all arrest during embryogenesis possibly due to cell division defcts (PubMed:11303786). Belongs to the ataxin-2 family.