1
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Poole RJ, Flames N, Cochella L. Neurogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 2024; 228:iyae116. [PMID: 39167071 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals rely on their nervous systems to process sensory inputs, integrate these with internal signals, and produce behavioral outputs. This is enabled by the highly specialized morphologies and functions of neurons. Neuronal cells share multiple structural and physiological features, but they also come in a large diversity of types or classes that give the nervous system its broad range of functions and plasticity. This diversity, first recognized over a century ago, spurred classification efforts based on morphology, function, and molecular criteria. Caenorhabditis elegans, with its precisely mapped nervous system at the anatomical level, an extensive molecular description of most of its neurons, and its genetic amenability, has been a prime model for understanding how neurons develop and diversify at a mechanistic level. Here, we review the gene regulatory mechanisms driving neurogenesis and the diversification of neuron classes and subclasses in C. elegans. We discuss our current understanding of the specification of neuronal progenitors and their differentiation in terms of the transcription factors involved and ensuing changes in gene expression and chromatin landscape. The central theme that has emerged is that the identity of a neuron is defined by modules of gene batteries that are under control of parallel yet interconnected regulatory mechanisms. We focus on how, to achieve these terminal identities, cells integrate information along their developmental lineages. Moreover, we discuss how neurons are diversified postembryonically in a time-, genetic sex-, and activity-dependent manner. Finally, we discuss how the understanding of neuronal development can provide insights into the evolution of neuronal diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Poole
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nuria Flames
- Developmental Neurobiology Unit, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia IBV-CSIC, Valencia 46012, Spain
| | - Luisa Cochella
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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2
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Coke MC, Bell CA, Urwin PE. The Use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model for Plant-Parasitic Nematodes: What Have We Learned? ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2024; 62:157-172. [PMID: 38848590 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-021622-113539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Nematoda is a diverse phylum that is estimated to contain more than a million species. More than 4,100 of these species have the ability to parasitize plants and cause agricultural losses estimated at US $173 billion annually. This has led to considerable research into their biology to minimize crop losses via control methods. At the infancy of plant-parasitic nematode molecular biology, researchers compared nematode genomes, genes, and biological processes to the model nematode species Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a free-living bacterial feeder. This well-annotated and researched model nematode assisted the molecular biology research, e.g., with genome assemblies, of plant-parasitic nematodes. However, as research into these plant parasites progressed, the necessity of relying on the free-living relative as a reference has reduced. This is partly driven by revealing the considerable divergence between the two types of nematodes both genomically and anatomically, forcing comparisons to be redundant as well as the increased quality of molecular plant nematology proposing more suitable model organisms for this clade of nematode. The major irregularity between the two types of nematodes is the unique anatomical structure and effector repertoire that plant nematodes utilize to establish parasitism, which C. elegans lacks, therefore reducing its value as a heterologous system to investigate parasitic processes. Despite this, C. elegans remains useful for investigating conserved genes via its utility as an expression system because of the current inability to transform plant-parasitic nematodes. Unfortunately, owing to the expertise that this requires, it is not a common and/or accessible tool. Furthermore, we believe that the application of C. elegans as an expression system for plant nematodes will be redundant once tools are established for stable reverse-genetics in these plant parasites. This will remove the restraints on molecular plant nematology and allow it to excel on par with the capabilities of C. elegans research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirela C Coke
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;
| | | | - P E Urwin
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;
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3
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Woodruff GC, Willis JH, Johnson E, Phillips PC. Widespread changes in gene expression accompany body size evolution in nematodes. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae110. [PMID: 38775657 PMCID: PMC11304970 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Body size is a fundamental trait that drives multiple evolutionary and ecological patterns. Caenorhabditis inopinata is a fig-associated nematode that is exceptionally large relative to other members of the genus, including Caenorhabditis elegans. We previously showed that C. inopinata is large primarily due to postembryonic cell size expansion that occurs during the larval-to-adult transition. Here, we describe gene expression patterns in C. elegans and C. inopinata throughout this developmental period to understand the transcriptional basis of body size change. We performed RNA-seq in both species across the L3, L4, and adult stages. Most genes are differentially expressed across all developmental stages, consistent with C. inopinata's divergent ecology and morphology. We also used a model comparison approach to identify orthologues with divergent dynamics across this developmental period between the 2 species. This included genes connected to neurons, behavior, stress response, developmental timing, and small RNA/chromatin regulation. Multiple hypodermal collagens were also observed to harbor divergent developmental dynamics across this period, and genes important for molting and body morphology were also detected. Genes associated with transforming growth factor β signaling revealed idiosyncratic and unexpected transcriptional patterns given their role in body size regulation in C. elegans. This widespread transcriptional divergence between these species is unexpected and maybe a signature of the ecological and morphological divergence of C. inopinata. Alternatively, transcriptional turnover may be the rule in the Caenorhabditis genus, indicative of widespread developmental system drift among species. This work lays the foundation for future functional genetic studies interrogating the bases of body size evolution in this group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin C Woodruff
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - John H Willis
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Erik Johnson
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Patrick C Phillips
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
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4
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Sundaram MV, Pujol N. The Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle and precuticle: a model for studying dynamic apical extracellular matrices in vivo. Genetics 2024; 227:iyae072. [PMID: 38995735 PMCID: PMC11304992 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Apical extracellular matrices (aECMs) coat the exposed surfaces of animal bodies to shape tissues, influence social interactions, and protect against pathogens and other environmental challenges. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, collagenous cuticle and zona pellucida protein-rich precuticle aECMs alternately coat external epithelia across the molt cycle and play many important roles in the worm's development, behavior, and physiology. Both these types of aECMs contain many matrix proteins related to those in vertebrates, as well as some that are nematode-specific. Extensive differences observed among tissues and life stages demonstrate that aECMs are a major feature of epithelial cell identity. In addition to forming discrete layers, some cuticle components assemble into complex substructures such as ridges, furrows, and nanoscale pillars. The epidermis and cuticle are mechanically linked, allowing the epidermis to sense cuticle damage and induce protective innate immune and stress responses. The C. elegans model, with its optical transparency, facilitates the study of aECM cell biology and structure/function relationships and all the myriad ways by which aECM can influence an organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meera V Sundaram
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Nathalie Pujol
- Aix Marseille University, INSERM, CNRS, CIML, Turing Centre for Living Systems, 13009 Marseille, France
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5
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Lyu H, Moya ND, Andersen EC, Chamberlin HM. Gene duplication and evolutionary plasticity of lin-12/Notch gene function in Caenorhabditis. Genetics 2024; 227:iyae064. [PMID: 38809718 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Gene duplication is an important substrate for the evolution of new gene functions, but the impacts of gene duplicates on their own activities and on the developmental networks in which they act are poorly understood. Here, we use a natural experiment of lin-12/Notch gene duplication within the nematode genus Caenorhabditis, combined with characterization of loss- and gain-of-function mutations, to uncover functional distinctions between the duplicate genes in 1 species (Caenorhabditis briggsae) and their single-copy ortholog in Caenorhabditis elegans. First, using improved genomic sequence and gene model characterization, we confirm that the C. briggsae genome includes 2 complete lin-12 genes, whereas most other genes encoding proteins that participate in the LIN-12 signaling pathway retain a one-to-one orthology with C. elegans. We use CRISPR-mediated genome editing to introduce alleles predicted to cause gain-of-function (gf) or loss-of-function (lf) into each C. briggsae gene and find that the gf mutations uncover functional distinctions not apparent from the lf alleles. Specifically, Cbr-lin-12.1(gf), but not Cbr-lin-12.2(gf), causes developmental defects similar to those observed in Cel-lin-12(gf). In contrast to Cel-lin-12(gf), however, the Cbr-lin-12.1(gf) alleles do not cause dominant phenotypes as compared to the wild type, and the mutant phenotype is observed only when 2 gf alleles are present. Our results demonstrate that gene duplicates can exhibit differential capacities to compensate for each other and to interfere with normal development, and uncover coincident gene duplication and evolution of developmental sensitivity to LIN-12/Notch activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haimeng Lyu
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Nicolas D Moya
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Bascom UTL 383, 3400 North Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Erik C Andersen
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Bascom UTL 383, 3400 North Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Helen M Chamberlin
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Ohio State University, 484 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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6
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Teterina AA, Willis JH, Baer CF, Phillips PC. Pervasive conservation of intron number and other genetic elements revealed by a chromosome-level genomic assembly of the hyper-polymorphic nematode Caenorhabditis brenneri. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.25.600681. [PMID: 38979286 PMCID: PMC11230420 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.25.600681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
With within-species genetic diversity estimates that span the gambit of that seen across the entirety of animals, the Caenorhabditis genus of nematodes holds unique potential to provide insights into how population size and reproductive strategies influence gene and genome organization and evolution. Our study focuses on Caenorhabditis brenneri, currently known as one of the most genetically diverse nematodes within its genus and metazoan phyla. Here, we present a high-quality gapless genome assembly and annotation for C. brenneri, revealing a common nematode chromosome arrangement characterized by gene-dense central regions and repeat rich peripheral parts. Comparison of C. brenneri with other nematodes from the 'Elegans' group revealed conserved macrosynteny but a lack of microsynteny, characterized by frequent rearrangements and low correlation iof orthogroup sizes, indicative of high rates of gene turnover. We also assessed genome organization within corresponding syntenic blocks in selfing and outcrossing species, affirming that selfing species predominantly experience loss of both genes and intergenic DNA. Comparison of gene structures revealed strikingly small number of shared introns across species, yet consistent distributions of intron number and length, regardless of population size or reproductive mode, suggesting that their evolutionary dynamics are primarily reflective of functional constraints. Our study provides valuable insights into genome evolution and expands the nematode genome resources with the highly genetically diverse C. brenneri, facilitating research into various aspects of nematode biology and evolutionary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia A Teterina
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
- Center of Parasitology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Moscow, Russia
| | - John H Willis
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Charles F Baer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
| | - Patrick C Phillips
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
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7
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Singh S, Anderson N, Chu D, Roy SW. Nematode histone H2A variant evolution reveals diverse histories of retention and loss and evidence for conserved core-like variant histone genes. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300190. [PMID: 38814971 PMCID: PMC11139335 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Histone variants are paralogs that replace canonical histones in nucleosomes, often imparting novel functions. However, how histone variants arise and evolve is poorly understood. Reconstruction of histone protein evolution is challenging due to large differences in evolutionary rates across gene lineages and sites. Here we used intron position data from 108 nematode genomes in combination with amino acid sequence data to find disparate evolutionary histories of the three H2A variants found in Caenorhabditis elegans: the ancient H2A.ZHTZ-1, the sperm-specific HTAS-1, and HIS-35, which differs from the canonical S-phase H2A by a single glycine-to-alanine C-terminal change. Although the H2A.ZHTZ-1 protein sequence is highly conserved, its gene exhibits recurrent intron gain and loss. This pattern suggests that specific intron sequences or positions may not be important to H2A.Z functionality. For HTAS-1 and HIS-35, we find variant-specific intron positions that are conserved across species. Patterns of intron position conservation indicate that the sperm-specific variant HTAS-1 arose more recently in the ancestor of a subset of Caenorhabditis species, while HIS-35 arose in the ancestor of Caenorhabditis and its sister group, including the genus Diploscapter. HIS-35 exhibits gene retention in some descendent lineages but gene loss in others, suggesting that histone variant use or functionality can be highly flexible. Surprisingly, we find the single amino acid differentiating HIS-35 from core H2A is ancestral and common across canonical Caenorhabditis H2A sequences. Thus, we speculate that the role of HIS-35 lies not in encoding a functionally distinct protein, but instead in enabling H2A expression across the cell cycle or in distinct tissues. This work illustrates how genes encoding such partially-redundant functions may be advantageous yet relatively replaceable over evolutionary timescales, consistent with the patchwork pattern of retention and loss of both genes. Our study shows the utility of intron positions for reconstructing evolutionary histories of gene families, particularly those undergoing idiosyncratic sequence evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swadha Singh
- Quantitative & Systems Biology, University of California, Merced, Merced, California, United States of America
| | - Noelle Anderson
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Diana Chu
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Scott W. Roy
- Quantitative & Systems Biology, University of California, Merced, Merced, California, United States of America
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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8
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Kieninger M, Stevens L, Collins JC, Blaxter M. The genome sequence of the nematode Caenorhabditis drosophilae (Rhabditida, Rhabditidae) (Kiontke, 1997). Wellcome Open Res 2024; 9:292. [PMID: 39114493 PMCID: PMC11303941 DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.22416.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
We present a genome assembly of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis drosophilae (Nematoda; Chromadorea; Rhabditida; Rhabditidae). The genome sequence is 51.3 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into six chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.15 kilobases in length.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lewis Stevens
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, England, UK
| | | | | | | | | | - Mark Blaxter
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, England, UK
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9
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Portman DS. Behavioral evolution: No sex please, we're hermaphrodites. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R501-R504. [PMID: 38772338 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Many 'hard-wired', innate animal behaviors are related to reproduction. So what happens when reproductive systems evolve? New research in nematodes has identified principles underlying the co-evolution of reproductive strategy and sexual behavior, revealing some surprises and raising intriguing new questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas S Portman
- Department of Biomedical Genetics and Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
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10
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Mignerot L, Gimond C, Bolelli L, Bouleau C, Sandjak A, Boulin T, Braendle C. Natural variation in the Caenorhabditis elegans egg-laying circuit modulates an intergenerational fitness trade-off. eLife 2024; 12:RP88253. [PMID: 38564369 PMCID: PMC10987095 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary transitions from egg laying (oviparity) to live birth (viviparity) are common across various taxa. Many species also exhibit genetic variation in egg-laying mode or display an intermediate mode with laid eggs containing embryos at various stages of development. Understanding the mechanistic basis and fitness consequences of such variation remains experimentally challenging. Here, we report highly variable intra-uterine egg retention across 316 Caenorhabditis elegans wild strains, some exhibiting strong retention, followed by internal hatching. We identify multiple evolutionary origins of such phenotypic extremes and pinpoint underlying candidate loci. Behavioral analysis and genetic manipulation indicates that this variation arises from genetic differences in the neuromodulatory architecture of the egg-laying circuitry. We provide experimental evidence that while strong egg retention can decrease maternal fitness due to in utero hatching, it may enhance offspring protection and confer a competitive advantage. Therefore, natural variation in C. elegans egg-laying behaviour can alter an apparent trade-off between different fitness components across generations. Our findings highlight underappreciated diversity in C. elegans egg-laying behavior and shed light on its fitness consequences. This behavioral variation offers a promising model to elucidate the molecular changes in a simple neural circuit underlying evolutionary shifts between alternative egg-laying modes in invertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Asma Sandjak
- Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Inserm, IBVNiceFrance
| | - Thomas Boulin
- Institut NeuroMyoGène, CNRS, Inserm, Université de LyonLyonFrance
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11
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Pires da Silva A, Kelleher R, Reynoldson L. Decoding lifespan secrets: the role of the gonad in Caenorhabditis elegans aging. FRONTIERS IN AGING 2024; 5:1380016. [PMID: 38605866 PMCID: PMC11008531 DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1380016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The gonad has become a central organ for understanding aging in C. elegans, as removing the proliferating stem cells in the germline results in significant lifespan extension. Similarly, when starvation in late larval stages leads to the quiescence of germline stem cells the adult nematode enters reproductive diapause, associated with an extended lifespan. This review summarizes recent advancements in identifying the mechanisms behind gonad-mediated lifespan extension, including comparisons with other nematodes and the role of lipid signaling and transcriptional changes. Given that the gonad also mediates lifespan regulation in other invertebrates and vertebrates, elucidating the underlying mechanisms may help to gain new insights into the mechanisms and evolution of aging.
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12
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Crombie TA, McKeown R, Moya ND, Evans K, Widmayer S, LaGrassa V, Roman N, Tursunova O, Zhang G, Gibson S, Buchanan C, Roberto N, Vieira R, Tanny R, Andersen E. CaeNDR, the Caenorhabditis Natural Diversity Resource. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:D850-D858. [PMID: 37855690 PMCID: PMC10767927 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of model organisms have provided important insights into how natural genetic differences shape trait variation. These discoveries are driven by the growing availability of genomes and the expansive experimental toolkits afforded to researchers using these species. For example, Caenorhabditis elegans is increasingly being used to identify and measure the effects of natural genetic variants on traits using quantitative genetics. Since 2016, the C. elegans Natural Diversity Resource (CeNDR) has facilitated many of these studies by providing an archive of wild strains, genome-wide sequence and variant data for each strain, and a genome-wide association (GWA) mapping portal for the C. elegans community. Here, we present an updated platform, the Caenorhabditis Natural Diversity Resource (CaeNDR), that enables quantitative genetics and genomics studies across the three Caenorhabditis species: C. elegans, C. briggsae and C. tropicalis. The CaeNDR platform hosts several databases that are continually updated by the addition of new strains, whole-genome sequence data and annotated variants. Additionally, CaeNDR provides new interactive tools to explore natural variation and enable GWA mappings. All CaeNDR data and tools are accessible through a freely available web portal located at caendr.org.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy A Crombie
- Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Ryan McKeown
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Nicolas D Moya
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Cell, Molecular, Developmental biology, and Biophysics Graduate Program, ohns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kathryn S Evans
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Samuel J Widmayer
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Vincent LaGrassa
- Northwestern University Information Technology, Media and Technology Innovation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Natalie Roman
- Northwestern University Information Technology, Media and Technology Innovation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Orzu Tursunova
- Northwestern University Information Technology, Media and Technology Innovation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Gaotian Zhang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Sophia B Gibson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Claire M Buchanan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Nicole M Roberto
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Rodolfo Vieira
- Northwestern University Information Technology, Media and Technology Innovation, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA
| | - Robyn E Tanny
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Erik C Andersen
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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13
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Rödelsperger C. Comparative Genomics of Sex, Chromosomes, and Sex Chromosomes in Caenorhabditis elegans and Other Nematodes. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2802:455-472. [PMID: 38819568 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3838-5_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
The nematode phylum has evolved a remarkable diversity of reproductive modes, including the repeated emergence of asexuality and hermaphroditism across divergent clades. The species-richness and small genome size of nematodes make them ideal systems for investigating the genome-wide causes and consequences of such major transitions. The availability of functional annotations for most Caenorhabditis elegans genes further allows the linking of patterns of gene content evolution with biological processes. Such gene-centric studies were recently complemented by investigations of chromosome evolution that made use of the first chromosome-scale genome assemblies outside the Caenorhabditis genus. This review highlights recent comparative genomic studies of reproductive mode evolution addressing the hybrid origin of asexuality and the parallel gene loss following the emergence of hermaphroditism. It further summarizes ongoing efforts to characterize ancient linkage blocks called Nigon elements, which form central units of chromosome evolution. Fusions between Nigon elements have been demonstrated to impact recombination and speciation. Finally, multiple recent fusions between autosomal and the sex-linked Nigon element reveal insights into the dynamic evolution of sex chromosomes across various timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Rödelsperger
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany.
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14
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Adams JRG, Pooranachithra M, Jyo EM, Zheng SL, Goncharov A, Crew JR, Kramer JM, Jin Y, Ernst AM, Chisholm AD. Nanoscale patterning of collagens in C. elegans apical extracellular matrix. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7506. [PMID: 37980413 PMCID: PMC10657453 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43058-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Apical extracellular matrices (aECMs) are complex extracellular compartments that form important interfaces between animals and their environment. In the adult C. elegans cuticle, layers are connected by regularly spaced columnar structures known as struts. Defects in struts result in swelling of the fluid-filled medial cuticle layer ('blistering', Bli). Here we show that three cuticle collagens BLI-1, BLI-2, and BLI-6, play key roles in struts. BLI-1 and BLI-2 are essential for strut formation whereas activating mutations in BLI-6 disrupt strut formation. BLI-1, BLI-2, and BLI-6 precisely colocalize to arrays of puncta in the adult cuticle, corresponding to struts, initially deposited in diffuse stripes adjacent to cuticle furrows. They eventually exhibit tube-like morphology, with the basal ends of BLI-containing struts contact regularly spaced holes in the cuticle. Genetic interaction studies indicate that BLI strut patterning involves interactions with other cuticle components. Our results reveal strut formation as a tractable example of precise aECM patterning at the nanoscale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R G Adams
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Murugesan Pooranachithra
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Erin M Jyo
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Sherry Li Zheng
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Alexandr Goncharov
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jennifer R Crew
- Northwestern University School of Medicine, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - James M Kramer
- Northwestern University School of Medicine, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Yishi Jin
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Andreas M Ernst
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Andrew D Chisholm
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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15
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Susoy V, Samuel ADT. Evolutionarily conserved behavioral plasticity enables context-dependent mating in C. elegans. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4532-4537.e3. [PMID: 37769659 PMCID: PMC10615801 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
Behavioral plasticity helps humans and animals to achieve their goals by adapting their behaviors to different environments.1,2 Although behavioral plasticity is ubiquitous, many innate species-specific behaviors, such as mating, are often assumed to be stereotyped and unaffected by plasticity or learning, especially in invertebrates. Here, we describe a novel case of behavioral plasticity in the nematode C. elegans. Under standard lab conditions (agar plates with bacterial food), the male performs parallel mating,3,4,5 a largely two-dimensional behavioral strategy where his body and tail remain flat on the surface and slide alongside the partner's body from initial contact to copulation. But when placed in liquid media, the male performs spiral mating, a distinctly three-dimensional behavioral strategy where he winds around the partner's body in a helical embrace. The performance of spiral mating does not require a long-term change in growing conditions, but it does improve with experience. This experience-dependent improvement appears to involve a critical period-a time window around the L4 larval stage to the early adult stage-which coincides with the development of most male-specific neurons. We tested several wild isolates of C. elegans and other Caenorhabditis species and found that most were capable of parallel mating on surfaces and spiral mating in liquids. We suggest that two- and three-dimensional mating strategies in Caenorhabditis are plastic, conditionally expressed phenotypes conserved across the genus, which can be genetically "fixed" in some species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladislav Susoy
- Department of Physics and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Aravinthan D T Samuel
- Department of Physics and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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16
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Rae R, Sheehy L, McDonald-Howard K. Thirty years of slug control using the parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita and beyond. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2023; 79:3408-3424. [PMID: 37394691 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Several slug species are highly pestiferous and threaten global sustainable agriculture. Current control methods rely heavily on metaldehyde pellets, which are often ineffective, harm nontarget organisms and have been banned in some countries. A viable alternative is the parasitic nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (and recently P. californica), which has been formulated into a biological control agent (Nemaslug®) to control slugs across northern Europe. Nematodes are mixed with water and applied to soil where they seek out slugs, penetrate behind the mantle and kill them in 4-21 days. Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita has been on the market since 1994 and since then there has been ample research on its use. Here we review the research carried out on P. hermaphrodita over the last 30 years since its development and release as a commercial product. We provide information on life cycle, worldwide distribution, history of commercialisation, gastropod immunity, host range, ecological and environmental factors that affect its success in the field, bacterial relationships, and summarise results of field trials. Finally, we suggest future directions for P. hermaphrodita research (and other Phasmarhabditis species) to enhance its use as a biological control agent to control slugs for the next 30 years. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robbie Rae
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Laura Sheehy
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Kerry McDonald-Howard
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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17
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Moya ND, Stevens L, Miller IR, Sokol CE, Galindo JL, Bardas AD, Koh ESH, Rozenich J, Yeo C, Xu M, Andersen EC. Novel and improved Caenorhabditis briggsae gene models generated by community curation. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:486. [PMID: 37626289 PMCID: PMC10463891 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09582-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae has been used as a model in comparative genomics studies with Caenorhabditis elegans because of their striking morphological and behavioral similarities. However, the potential of C. briggsae for comparative studies is limited by the quality of its genome resources. The genome resources for the C. briggsae laboratory strain AF16 have not been developed to the same extent as C. elegans. The recent publication of a new chromosome-level reference genome for QX1410, a C. briggsae wild strain closely related to AF16, has provided the first step to bridge the gap between C. elegans and C. briggsae genome resources. Currently, the QX1410 gene models consist of software-derived gene predictions that contain numerous errors in their structure and coding sequences. In this study, a team of researchers manually inspected over 21,000 gene models and underlying transcriptomic data to repair software-derived errors. RESULTS We designed a detailed workflow to train a team of nine students to manually curate gene models using RNA read alignments. We manually inspected the gene models, proposed corrections to the coding sequences of over 8,000 genes, and modeled thousands of putative isoforms and untranslated regions. We exploited the conservation of protein sequence length between C. briggsae and C. elegans to quantify the improvement in protein-coding gene model quality and showed that manual curation led to substantial improvements in the protein sequence length accuracy of QX1410 genes. Additionally, collinear alignment analysis between the QX1410 and AF16 genomes revealed over 1,800 genes affected by spurious duplications and inversions in the AF16 genome that are now resolved in the QX1410 genome. CONCLUSIONS Community-based, manual curation using transcriptome data is an effective approach to improve the quality of software-derived protein-coding genes. The detailed protocols provided in this work can be useful for future large-scale manual curation projects in other species. Our manual curation efforts have brought the QX1410 gene models to a comparable level of quality as the extensively curated AF16 gene models. The improved genome resources for C. briggsae provide reliable tools for the study of Caenorhabditis biology and other related nematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas D Moya
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Lewis Stevens
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Isabella R Miller
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Chloe E Sokol
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Joseph L Galindo
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Alexandra D Bardas
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Edward S H Koh
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Justine Rozenich
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Cassia Yeo
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Maryanne Xu
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Erik C Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 4619 Silverman Hall 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
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18
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Kern CC, Srivastava S, Ezcurra M, Hsiung KC, Hui N, Townsend S, Maczik D, Zhang B, Tse V, Konstantellos V, Bähler J, Gems D. C. elegans ageing is accelerated by a self-destructive reproductive programme. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4381. [PMID: 37474586 PMCID: PMC10359416 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40088-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In post-reproductive C. elegans, destructive somatic biomass repurposing supports production of yolk which, it was recently shown, is vented and can serve as a foodstuff for larval progeny. This is reminiscent of the suicidal reproductive effort (reproductive death) typical of semelparous organisms such as Pacific salmon. To explore the possibility that C. elegans exhibits reproductive death, we have compared sibling species pairs of the genera Caenorhabditis and Pristionchus with hermaphrodites and females. We report that yolk venting and constitutive, early pathology involving major anatomical changes occur only in hermaphrodites, which are also shorter lived. Moreover, only in hermaphrodites does germline removal suppress senescent pathology and markedly increase lifespan. This is consistent with the hypothesis that C. elegans exhibit reproductive death that is suppressed by germline ablation. If correct, this would imply a major difference in the ageing process between C. elegans and most higher organisms, and potentially explain the exceptional plasticity in C. elegans ageing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina C Kern
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Shivangi Srivastava
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Marina Ezcurra
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- School of Biosciences, Stacey Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK
| | - Kuei Ching Hsiung
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nancy Hui
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - StJohn Townsend
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Dominik Maczik
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Bruce Zhang
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Victoria Tse
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Viktoras Konstantellos
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jürg Bähler
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David Gems
- Institute of Healthy Ageing, and Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
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19
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Broitman-Maduro G, Maduro MF. Evolutionary Change in Gut Specification in Caenorhabditis Centers on the GATA Factor ELT-3 in an Example of Developmental System Drift. J Dev Biol 2023; 11:32. [PMID: 37489333 PMCID: PMC10366740 DOI: 10.3390/jdb11030032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Cells in a developing animal embryo become specified by the activation of cell-type-specific gene regulatory networks. The network that specifies the gut in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been the subject of study for more than two decades. In this network, the maternal factors SKN-1/Nrf and POP-1/TCF activate a zygotic GATA factor cascade consisting of the regulators MED-1,2 → END-1,3 → ELT-2,7, leading to the specification of the gut in early embryos. Paradoxically, the MED, END, and ELT-7 regulators are present only in species closely related to C. elegans, raising the question of how the gut can be specified without them. Recent work found that ELT-3, a GATA factor without an endodermal role in C. elegans, acts in a simpler ELT-3 → ELT-2 network to specify gut in more distant species. The simpler ELT-3 → ELT-2 network may thus represent an ancestral pathway. In this review, we describe the elucidation of the gut specification network in C. elegans and related species and propose a model by which the more complex network might have formed. Because the evolution of this network occurred without a change in phenotype, it is an example of the phenomenon of Developmental System Drift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Broitman-Maduro
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Morris F Maduro
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
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20
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Widen SA, Bes IC, Koreshova A, Pliota P, Krogull D, Burga A. Virus-like transposons cross the species barrier and drive the evolution of genetic incompatibilities. Science 2023; 380:eade0705. [PMID: 37384706 DOI: 10.1126/science.ade0705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer, the movement of genetic material between species, has been reported across all major eukaryotic lineages. However, the underlying mechanisms of transfer and their impact on genome evolution are still poorly understood. While studying the evolutionary origin of a selfish element in the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae, we discovered that Mavericks, ancient virus-like transposons related to giant viruses and virophages, are one of the long-sought vectors of horizontal gene transfer. We found that Mavericks gained a novel herpesvirus-like fusogen in nematodes, leading to the widespread exchange of cargo genes between extremely divergent species, bypassing sexual and genetic barriers spanning hundreds of millions of years. Our results show how the union between viruses and transposons causes horizontal gene transfer and ultimately genetic incompatibilities in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonya A Widen
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Israel Campo Bes
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alevtina Koreshova
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Pinelopi Pliota
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Krogull
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alejandro Burga
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
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21
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Sun B, Kim H, Mello CC, Priess JR. The CERV protein of Cer1, a C. elegans LTR retrotransposon, is required for nuclear export of viral genomic RNA and can form giant nuclear rods. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010804. [PMID: 37384599 PMCID: PMC10309623 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Retroviruses and closely related LTR retrotransposons export full-length, unspliced genomic RNA (gRNA) for packaging into virions and to serve as the mRNA encoding GAG and POL polyproteins. Because gRNA often includes splice acceptor and donor sequences used to splice viral mRNAs, retroelements must overcome host mechanisms that retain intron-containing RNAs in the nucleus. Here we examine gRNA expression in Cer1, an LTR retrotransposon in C. elegans which somehow avoids silencing and is highly expressed in germ cells. Newly exported Cer1 gRNA associates rapidly with the Cer1 GAG protein, which has structural similarity with retroviral GAG proteins. gRNA export requires CERV (C. elegans regulator of viral expression), a novel protein encoded by a spliced Cer1 mRNA. CERV phosphorylation at S214 is essential for gRNA export, and phosphorylated CERV colocalizes with nuclear gRNA at presumptive sites of transcription. By electron microscopy, tagged CERV proteins surround clusters of distinct, linear fibrils that likely represent gRNA molecules. Single fibrils, or groups of aligned fibrils, also localize near nuclear pores. During the C. elegans self-fertile period, when hermaphrodites fertilize oocytes with their own sperm, CERV concentrates in two nuclear foci that are coincident with gRNA. However, as hermaphrodites cease self-fertilization, and can only produce cross-progeny, CERV undergoes a remarkable transition to form giant nuclear rods or cylinders that can be up to 5 microns in length. We propose a novel mechanism of rod formation, in which stage-specific changes in the nucleolus induce CERV to localize to the nucleolar periphery in flattened streaks of protein and gRNA; these streaks then roll up into cylinders. The rods are a widespread feature of Cer1 in wild strains of C. elegans, but their function is not known and might be limited to cross-progeny. We speculate that the adaptive strategy Cer1 uses for the identical self-progeny of a host hermaphrodite might differ for heterozygous cross-progeny sired by males. For example, mating introduces male chromosomes which can have different, or no, Cer1 elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Sun
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,United States of America
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Haram Kim
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Craig C. Mello
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,United States of America
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - James R. Priess
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
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22
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Moya ND, Stevens L, Miller IR, Sokol CE, Galindo JL, Bardas AD, Koh ESH, Rozenich J, Yeo C, Xu M, Andersen EC. Novel and improved Caenorhabditis briggsae gene models generated by community curation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.16.541014. [PMID: 37292880 PMCID: PMC10245686 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.16.541014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Background The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae has been used as a model for genomics studies compared to Caenorhabditis elegans because of its striking morphological and behavioral similarities. These studies yielded numerous findings that have expanded our understanding of nematode development and evolution. However, the potential of C. briggsae to study nematode biology is limited by the quality of its genome resources. The reference genome and gene models for the C. briggsae laboratory strain AF16 have not been developed to the same extent as C. elegans . The recent publication of a new chromosome-level reference genome for QX1410, a C. briggsae wild strain closely related to AF16, has provided the first step to bridge the gap between C. elegans and C. briggsae genome resources. Currently, the QX1410 gene models consist of protein-coding gene predictions generated from short- and long-read transcriptomic data. Because of the limitations of gene prediction software, the existing gene models for QX1410 contain numerous errors in their structure and coding sequences. In this study, a team of researchers manually inspected over 21,000 software-derived gene models and underlying transcriptomic data to improve the protein-coding gene models of the C. briggsae QX1410 genome. Results We designed a detailed workflow to train a team of nine students to manually curate genes using RNA read alignments and predicted gene models. We manually inspected the gene models using the genome annotation editor, Apollo, and proposed corrections to the coding sequences of over 8,000 genes. Additionally, we modeled thousands of putative isoforms and untranslated regions. We exploited the conservation of protein sequence length between C. briggsae and C. elegans to quantify the improvement in protein-coding gene model quality before and after curation. Manual curation led to a substantial improvement in the protein sequence length accuracy of QX1410 genes. We also compared the curated QX1410 gene models against the existing AF16 gene models. The manual curation efforts yielded QX1410 gene models that are similar in quality to the extensively curated AF16 gene models in terms of protein-length accuracy and biological completeness scores. Collinear alignment analysis between the QX1410 and AF16 genomes revealed over 1,800 genes affected by spurious duplications and inversions in the AF16 genome that are now resolved in the QX1410 genome. Conclusions Community-based, manual curation using transcriptome data is an effective approach to improve the quality of software-derived protein-coding genes. Comparative genomic analysis using a related species with high-quality reference genome(s) and gene models can be used to quantify improvements in gene model quality in a newly sequenced genome. The detailed protocols provided in this work can be useful for future large-scale manual curation projects in other species. The chromosome-level reference genome for the C. briggsae strain QX1410 far surpasses the quality of the genome of the laboratory strain AF16, and our manual curation efforts have brought the QX1410 gene models to a comparable level of quality to the previous reference, AF16. The improved genome resources for C. briggsae provide reliable tools for the study of Caenorhabditis biology and other related nematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas D. Moya
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Lewis Stevens
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Isabella R. Miller
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Chloe E. Sokol
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Joseph L. Galindo
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Alexandra D. Bardas
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Edward S. H. Koh
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Justine Rozenich
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Cassia Yeo
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Maryanne Xu
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Erik C. Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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23
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Ceron-Noriega A, Almeida MV, Levin M, Butter F. Nematode gene annotation by machine-learning-assisted proteotranscriptomics enables proteome-wide evolutionary analysis. Genome Res 2023; 33:112-128. [PMID: 36653121 PMCID: PMC9977148 DOI: 10.1101/gr.277070.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Nematodes encompass more than 24,000 described species, which were discovered in almost every ecological habitat, and make up >80% of metazoan taxonomic diversity in soils. The last common ancestor of nematodes is believed to date back to ∼650-750 million years, generating a large and phylogenetically diverse group to be explored. However, for most species high-quality gene annotations are incomprehensive or missing. Combining short-read RNA sequencing with mass spectrometry-based proteomics and machine-learning quality control in an approach called proteotranscriptomics, we improve gene annotations for nine genome-sequenced nematode species and provide new gene annotations for three additional species without genome assemblies. Emphasizing the sensitivity of our methodology, we provide evidence for two hitherto undescribed genes in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans Extensive phylogenetic systems analysis using this comprehensive proteome annotation provides new insights into evolutionary processes of this metazoan group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michal Levin
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Falk Butter
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), 55128 Mainz, Germany
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24
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Sun S, Kanzaki N, Dayi M, Maeda Y, Yoshida A, Tanaka R, Kikuchi T. The compact genome of Caenorhabditis niphades n. sp., isolated from a wood-boring weevil, Niphades variegatus. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:765. [PMID: 36418933 PMCID: PMC9682657 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-09011-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The first metazoan genome sequenced, that of Caenorhabditis elegans, has motivated animal genome evolution studies. To date > 50 species from the genus Caenorhabditis have been sequenced, allowing research on genome variation. RESULTS In the present study, we describe a new gonochoristic species, Caenorhabditis niphades n. sp., previously referred as C. sp. 36, isolated from adult weevils (Niphades variegatus), with whom they appear to be tightly associated during its life cycle. Along with a species description, we sequenced the genome of C. niphades n. sp. and produced a chromosome-level assembly. A genome comparison highlighted that C. niphades n. sp. has the smallest genome (59 Mbp) so far sequenced in the Elegans supergroup, despite being closely related to a species with an exceptionally large genome, C. japonica. CONCLUSIONS The compact genome of C. niphades n. sp. can serve as a key resource for comparative evolutionary studies of genome and gene number expansions in Caenorhabditis species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simo Sun
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8562 Japan ,grid.410849.00000 0001 0657 3887Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki, 889-1692 Japan
| | - Natsumi Kanzaki
- grid.417935.d0000 0000 9150 188XKansai Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 68 Nagaikyutaroh, Momoyama, Fushimi, Kyoto, 612-0855 Japan
| | - Mehmet Dayi
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8562 Japan ,grid.412121.50000 0001 1710 3792Forestry Vocational School, Duzce University, 81620 Duzce, Türkiye
| | - Yasunobu Maeda
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8562 Japan ,grid.410849.00000 0001 0657 3887Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki, 889-1692 Japan
| | - Akemi Yoshida
- grid.410849.00000 0001 0657 3887Genomics and Bioenvironmental Science, Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-1692 Japan
| | - Ryusei Tanaka
- grid.410849.00000 0001 0657 3887Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki, 889-1692 Japan
| | - Taisei Kikuchi
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8562 Japan ,grid.410849.00000 0001 0657 3887Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki, 889-1692 Japan
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Thiengo SC, Ramos-de-Souza J, Silva GM, Fernandez MA, Silva EF, Sousa AKP, Rodrigues PS, Mattos AC, Costa RAF, Gomes SR. Parasitism of terrestrial gastropods by medically-important nematodes in Brazil. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:1023426. [PMID: 36467665 PMCID: PMC9715018 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1023426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
An ample variety of parasitic associations are found between mollusks and nematodes, in which the mollusks may act as intermediate, paratenic or definitive hosts. Some free-living nematodes, in particular those of the order Rhabditida, are also found frequently in terrestrial mollusks. The present study reviews the results of the parasitological testing on samples of terrestrial mollusks conducted at the Brazilian National Reference Laboratory for Schistosomiasis and Malacology between 2008 and 2021. The samples were supplied primarily by the public health authorities from the different regions of Brazil, but also by research institutions and general population. The mollusks were processed individually and the obtained larvae were identified from their morphology and, whenever necessary, by molecular analysis. A total of 1,919 service orders were registered during the period, including 19,758 mollusk specimens collected from 23 of the 26 Brazilian states, as well as the Federal District, totalizing 145 municipalities. There was a marked predominance of the synanthropic species that are widely distributed in Brazil-Achatina fulica (87.08%), Bulimulus tenuissimus (4.18%), Bradybaena similaris (2.06%), and Sarasinula linguaeformis (1.50%). Of the 16,750 terrestrial mollusks examined, nematodes were recorded in 1,308 service orders, with the predominance of the superfamily Metastrongyloidea, in 616 service orders. They included Angiostrongylus cantonensis, rat lungworm, which was found in 252 samples, and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in 145 samples. Free-living nematodes were found in 952 samples, Ancylostoma caninum and Cruzia tentaculata (previously identified as Strongyluris sp.) in one and 275 samples, respectively, and other parasites in 210 samples (not identified). The results highlight the diversity of the associations between nematodes and terrestrial mollusks in Brazil, in particular invasive and synanthropic species, with emphasis on the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica. They demonstrate the prominent role of this species of mollusk in the transmission of medically-important nematodes, which affect the health of both humans and animals, in particular eosinophilic meningitis, which is caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis. This reinforces the need for more studies, and justify the growing demand for information as well as parasitological diagnosis of this mollusk, given its wide distribution in Brazil and its impact as an urban pest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana C. Thiengo
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jucicleide Ramos-de-Souza
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Parasitária, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Guilherme M. Silva
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Departamento de Metodologia da Enfermagem, Escola de Enfermagem Anna Nery, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Monica A. Fernandez
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Elizangela F. Silva
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde-Pública e Meio Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Arielly K. P. Sousa
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Paulo S. Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Parasitária, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Aline C. Mattos
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Ruam A. F. Costa
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Suzete R. Gomes
- Laboratório de Referência Nacional para Esquistossomose - Malacologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Broitman-Maduro G, Sun S, Kikuchi T, Maduro MF. The GATA factor ELT-3 specifies endoderm in Caenorhabditis angaria in an ancestral gene network. Development 2022; 149:277064. [PMID: 36196618 PMCID: PMC9720673 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Endoderm specification in Caenorhabditis elegans occurs through a network in which maternally provided SKN-1/Nrf, with additional input from POP-1/TCF, activates the GATA factor cascade MED-1,2→END-1,3→ELT-2,7. Orthologues of the MED, END and ELT-7 factors are found only among nematodes closely related to C. elegans, raising the question of how gut is specified in their absence in more distant species in the genus. We find that the C. angaria, C. portoensis and C. monodelphis orthologues of the GATA factor gene elt-3 are expressed in the early E lineage, just before their elt-2 orthologues. In C. angaria, Can-pop-1(RNAi), Can-elt-3(RNAi) and a Can-elt-3 null mutation result in a penetrant ‘gutless’ phenotype. Can-pop-1 is necessary for Can-elt-3 activation, showing that it acts upstream. Forced early E lineage expression of Can-elt-3 in C. elegans can direct the expression of a Can-elt-2 transgene and rescue an elt-7 end-1 end-3; elt-2 quadruple mutant strain to viability. Our results demonstrate an ancestral mechanism for gut specification and differentiation in Caenorhabditis involving a simpler POP-1→ELT-3→ELT-2 gene network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Broitman-Maduro
- University of California 1 Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology , , Riverside, CA 92521 , USA
| | - Simo Sun
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki 2 Department of Infectious Diseases , , 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki 889-1692 , Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo 3 Department of Integrated Biosciences , , Chiba 277-8562 , Japan
| | - Taisei Kikuchi
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki 2 Department of Infectious Diseases , , 5200 Kihara, Miyazaki 889-1692 , Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo 3 Department of Integrated Biosciences , , Chiba 277-8562 , Japan
| | - Morris F. Maduro
- University of California 1 Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology , , Riverside, CA 92521 , USA
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27
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Caro L, Raman P, Steiner FA, Ailion M, Malik HS. Recurrent but Short-Lived Duplications of Centromeric Proteins in Holocentric Caenorhabditis Species. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6731087. [PMID: 36173809 PMCID: PMC9577544 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Centromeric histones (CenH3s) are essential for chromosome inheritance during cell division in most eukaryotes. CenH3 genes have rapidly evolved and undergone repeated gene duplications and diversification in many plant and animal species. In Caenorhabditis species, two independent duplications of CenH3 (named hcp-3 for HoloCentric chromosome-binding Protein 3) were previously identified in C. elegans and C. remanei. Using phylogenomic analyses in 32 Caenorhabditis species, we find strict retention of the ancestral hcp-3 gene and 10 independent duplications. Most hcp-3L (hcp-3-like) paralogs are only found in 1-2 species, are expressed in both males and females/hermaphrodites, and encode histone fold domains with 69-100% identity to ancestral hcp-3. We identified novel N-terminal protein motifs, including putative kinetochore protein-interacting motifs and a potential separase cleavage site, which are well conserved across Caenorhabditis HCP-3 proteins. Other N-terminal motifs vary in their retention across paralogs or species, revealing potential subfunctionalization or functional loss following duplication. An N-terminal extension in the hcp-3L gene of C. afra revealed an unprecedented protein fusion, where hcp-3L fused to duplicated segments from hcp-4 (nematode CENP-C). By extending our analyses beyond CenH3, we found gene duplications of six inner and outer kinetochore genes in Caenorhabditis, which appear to have been retained independent of hcp-3 duplications. Our findings suggest that centromeric protein duplications occur frequently in Caenorhabditis nematodes, are selectively retained for short evolutionary periods, then degenerate or are lost entirely. We hypothesize that unique challenges associated with holocentricity in Caenorhabditis may lead to this rapid "revolving door" of kinetochore protein paralogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lews Caro
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Pravrutha Raman
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Florian A Steiner
- Department of Molecular Biology and Cellular Biology, Section of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Michael Ailion
- Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Harmit S Malik
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
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28
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Shaw CL, Kennedy DA. Developing an empirical model for spillover and emergence: Orsay virus host range in Caenorhabditis. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221165. [PMID: 36126684 PMCID: PMC9489279 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A lack of tractable experimental systems in which to test hypotheses about the ecological and evolutionary drivers of disease spillover and emergence has limited our understanding of these processes. Here we introduce a promising system: Caenorhabditis hosts and Orsay virus, a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that naturally infects C. elegans. We assayed species across the Caenorhabditis tree and found Orsay virus susceptibility in 21 of 84 wild strains belonging to 14 of 44 species. Confirming patterns documented in other systems, we detected effects of host phylogeny on susceptibility. We then tested whether susceptible strains were capable of transmitting Orsay virus by transplanting exposed hosts and determining whether they transmitted infection to conspecifics during serial passage. We found no evidence of transmission in 10 strains (virus undetectable after passaging in all replicates), evidence of low-level transmission in 5 strains (virus lost between passage 1 and 5 in at least one replicate) and evidence of sustained transmission in 6 strains (including all three experimental C. elegans strains) in at least one replicate. Transmission was strongly associated with viral amplification in exposed populations. Variation in Orsay virus susceptibility and transmission among Caenorhabditis strains suggests that the system could be powerful for studying spillover and emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara L. Shaw
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - David A. Kennedy
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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29
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Hammerschmith EW, Woodruff GC, Moser KA, Johnson E, Phillips PC. Opposing directions of stage-specific body shape change in a close relative of C. elegans. BMC ZOOL 2022; 7:38. [PMID: 37170380 PMCID: PMC10127021 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-022-00131-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Body size is a fundamental organismal trait. However, as body size and ecological contexts change across developmental time, evolutionary divergence may cause unexpected patterns of body size diversity among developmental stages. This may be particularly evident in polyphenic developmental stages specialized for dispersal. The dauer larva is such a stage in nematodes, and Caenorhabditis species disperse by traveling on invertebrate carriers. Here, we describe the morphology of a stress-resistant, dauer-like larval stage of the nematode Caenorhabditis inopinata, whose adults can grow to be nearly twice as long as its close relative, the model organism C. elegans.
Results
We find that a dauer-like, stress-resistant larval stage in two isolates of C. inopinata is on average 13% shorter and 30% wider than the dauer larvae of C. elegans, despite its much longer adult stage. Additionally, many C. inopinata dauer-like larvae were ensheathed, a possible novelty in this lineage reminiscent of the infective juveniles of parasitic nematodes. Variation in dauer-like larva formation frequency among twenty-four wild isolates of C. inopinata was also observed, although frequencies were low across all isolates (< 2%), with many isolates unable to produce dauer-like larvae under conventional laboratory conditions.
Conclusion
Most Caenorhabditis species thrive on rotting plants and disperse on snails, slugs, or isopods (among others) whereas C. inopinata is ecologically divergent and thrives in fresh Ficus septica figs and disperses on their pollinating wasps. While there is some unknown factor of the fig environment that promotes elongated body size in C. inopinata adults, the small size or unique life history of its fig wasp carrier may be driving the divergent morphology of its stress-resistant larval stages. Further characterization of the behavior, development, and morphology of this stage will refine connections to homologous developmental stages in other species and determine whether ecological divergence across multiple developmental stages can promote unexpected and opposing changes in body size dimensions within a single species.
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30
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Sloat SA, Noble LM, Paaby AB, Bernstein M, Chang A, Kaur T, Yuen J, Tintori SC, Jackson JL, Martel A, Salome Correa JA, Stevens L, Kiontke K, Blaxter M, Rockman MV. Caenorhabditis nematodes colonize ephemeral resource patches in neotropical forests. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9124. [PMID: 35898425 PMCID: PMC9309040 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Factors shaping the distribution and abundance of species include life-history traits, population structure, and stochastic colonization-extinction dynamics. Field studies of model species groups help reveal the roles of these factors. Species of Caenorhabditis nematodes are highly divergent at the sequence level but exhibit highly conserved morphology, and many of these species live in sympatry on microbe-rich patches of rotten material. Here, we use field experiments and large-scale opportunistic collections to investigate species composition, abundance, and colonization efficiency of Caenorhabditis species in two of the world's best-studied lowland tropical field sites: Barro Colorado Island in Panamá and La Selva in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. We observed seven species of Caenorhabditis, four of them known only from these collections. We formally describe two species and place them within the Caenorhabditis phylogeny. While these localities contain species from many parts of the phylogeny, both localities were dominated by globally distributed androdiecious species. We found that Caenorhabditis individuals were able to colonize baits accessible only through phoresy and preferentially colonized baits that were in direct contact with the ground. We estimate the number of colonization events per patch to be low.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solomon A. Sloat
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Luke M. Noble
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Annalise B. Paaby
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- School of Biological SciencesGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Max Bernstein
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Audrey Chang
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Taniya Kaur
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
| | - John Yuen
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Renaissance School of MedicineStony Brook UniversityStony BrookNew YorkUSA
| | - Sophia C. Tintori
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Jacqueline L. Jackson
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Arielle Martel
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Jose A. Salome Correa
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Karin Kiontke
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Mark Blaxter
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger InstituteHinxtonUK
| | - Matthew V. Rockman
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics and Systems BiologyNew York UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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31
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Guo H, Stamper EL, Sato-Carlton A, Shimazoe MA, Li X, Zhang L, Stevens L, Tam KCJ, Dernburg AF, Carlton PM. Phosphoregulation of DSB-1 mediates control of meiotic double-strand break activity. eLife 2022; 11:77956. [PMID: 35758641 PMCID: PMC9278955 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In the first meiotic cell division, proper segregation of chromosomes in most organisms depends on chiasmata, exchanges of continuity between homologous chromosomes that originate from the repair of programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs) catalyzed by the Spo11 endonuclease. Since DSBs can lead to irreparable damage in germ cells, while chromosomes lacking DSBs also lack chiasmata, the number of DSBs must be carefully regulated to be neither too high nor too low. Here, we show that in Caenorhabditis elegans, meiotic DSB levels are controlled by the phosphoregulation of DSB-1, a homolog of the yeast Spo11 cofactor Rec114, by the opposing activities of PP4PPH-4.1 phosphatase and ATRATL-1 kinase. Increased DSB-1 phosphorylation in pph-4.1 mutants correlates with reduction in DSB formation, while prevention of DSB-1 phosphorylation drastically increases the number of meiotic DSBs both in pph-4.1 mutants and in the wild-type background. C. elegans and its close relatives also possess a diverged paralog of DSB-1, called DSB-2, and loss of dsb-2 is known to reduce DSB formation in oocytes with increasing age. We show that the proportion of the phosphorylated, and thus inactivated, form of DSB-1 increases with age and upon loss of DSB-2, while non-phosphorylatable DSB-1 rescues the age-dependent decrease in DSBs in dsb-2 mutants. These results suggest that DSB-2 evolved in part to compensate for the inactivation of DSB-1 through phosphorylation, to maintain levels of DSBs in older animals. Our work shows that PP4PPH-4.1, ATRATL-1, and DSB-2 act in concert with DSB-1 to promote optimal DSB levels throughout the reproductive lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heyun Guo
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Ericca L Stamper
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, United States.,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, United States.,Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, United States
| | - Aya Sato-Carlton
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Masa A Shimazoe
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Xuan Li
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Liangyu Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, United States.,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, United States.,Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, United States
| | - Lewis Stevens
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Ashworth Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - K C Jacky Tam
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Abby F Dernburg
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, United States.,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Berkeley, United States.,Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, United States
| | - Peter M Carlton
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan.,Radiation Biology Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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32
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Evolution of sexual systems, sex chromosomes and sex-linked gene transcription in flatworms and roundworms. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3239. [PMID: 35688815 PMCID: PMC9187692 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30578-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species with separate male and female individuals (termed ‘gonochorism’ in animals) have sex-linked genome regions. Here, we investigate evolutionary changes when genome regions become completely sex-linked, by analyses of multiple species of flatworms (Platyhelminthes; among which schistosomes recently evolved gonochorism from ancestral hermaphroditism), and roundworms (Nematoda) which have undergone independent translocations of different autosomes. Although neither the evolution of gonochorism nor translocations fusing ancestrally autosomal regions to sex chromosomes causes inevitable loss of recombination, we document that formerly recombining regions show genomic signatures of recombination suppression in both taxa, and become strongly genetically degenerated, with a loss of most genes. Comparisons with hermaphroditic flatworm transcriptomes show masculinisation and some defeminisation in schistosome gonad gene expression. We also find evidence that evolution of sex-linkage in nematodes is accompanied by transcriptional changes and dosage compensation. Our analyses also identify sex-linked genes that could assist future research aimed at controlling some of these important parasites. Transitions between hermaphroditic and separate sexes are relatively understudied in animals compared to pants. Here, Wang et al. reconstruct the evolution of separate sexes in the flatworms and complex changes of sex chromosomes in the roundworms.
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33
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Liu Y, Jingjing Z, Li C. Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of a nematode species, Caenorhabditis tribulationis (Nematoda, Rhabditidae). Mitochondrial DNA B Resour 2022; 7:930-932. [PMID: 35692637 PMCID: PMC9176374 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2022.2079103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we reported the complete mitogenome sequence of Caenorhabditis tribulationis Stevens & Félix 2019. The whole mitogenome of C. tribulationis is 14006 bp in length with an extreme bias of high AT content (75.26%) (GenBank accession no. OL362111). The mitochondrial genome contains 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNAs) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) genes, and a control region. All genes were unidirectionally transcribed on the same strand, typical for other nematode mitogenomes. 9 PCGs were initiated by typical ATN codons, except for NAD2, CYTB and NAD4, which were start with TTG codons. All the PCGs were predicted to use the typical TAN as the stop codons. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the relationship of C. tribulationis is very close to other species in the family Rhabditidae and separated form species of the families Ascarididae, Toxocaridae, Anisakidae and Ascaridiidae with high bootstrap value support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuheng Liu
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, National Engineering Research Center of Immunological Products, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Zhang Jingjing
- School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, P. R. China
| | - Chao Li
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, National Engineering Research Center of Immunological Products, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P. R. China
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34
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Stevens L, Moya ND, Tanny RE, Gibson SB, Tracey A, Na H, Chitrakar R, Dekker J, Walhout AJ, Baugh LR, Andersen EC. Chromosome-level reference genomes for two strains of Caenorhabditis briggsae: an improved platform for comparative genomics. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6554914. [PMID: 35348662 PMCID: PMC9011032 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The publication of the Caenorhabditis briggsae reference genome in 2003 enabled the first comparative genomics studies between C. elegans and C. briggsae, shedding light on the evolution of genome content and structure in the Caenorhabditis genus. However, despite being widely used, the currently available C. briggsae reference genome is substantially less complete and structurally accurate than the C. elegans reference genome. Here, we used high-coverage Oxford Nanopore long-read and chromosome conformation capture data to generate chromosome-level reference genomes for two C. briggsae strains: QX1410, a new reference strain closely related to the laboratory AF16 strain, and VX34, a highly divergent strain isolated in China. We also sequenced 99 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) generated from reciprocal crosses between QX1410 and VX34 to create a recombination map and identify chromosomal domains. Additionally, we used both short- and long-read RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data to generate high-quality gene annotations. By comparing these new reference genomes to the current reference, we reveal that hyper-divergent haplotypes cover large portions of the C. briggsae genome, similar to recent reports in C. elegans and C. tropicalis. We also show that the genomes of selfing Caenorhabditis species have undergone more rearrangement than their outcrossing relatives, which has biased previous estimates of rearrangement rate in Caenorhabditis. These new genomes provide a substantially improved platform for comparative genomics in Caenorhabditis and narrow the gap between the quality of genomic resources available for C. elegans and C. briggsae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewis Stevens
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Nicolas D. Moya
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Robyn E. Tanny
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Sophia B. Gibson
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Alan Tracey
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Huimin Na
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Job Dekker
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Albertha J.M. Walhout
- Department of Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - L. Ryan Baugh
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Erik C. Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
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35
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Ding Q, Li R, Ren X, Chan LY, Ho VWS, Xie D, Ye P, Zhao Z. Genomic architecture of 5S rDNA cluster and its variations within and between species. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:238. [PMID: 35346033 PMCID: PMC8961926 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08476-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs) are arranged in purely tandem repeats, preventing them from being reliably assembled onto chromosomes during generation of genome assembly. The uncertainty of rDNA genomic structure presents a significant barrier for studying their function and evolution. RESULTS Here we generate ultra-long Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and short NGS reads to delineate the architecture and variation of the 5S rDNA cluster in the different strains of C. elegans and C. briggsae. We classify the individual rDNA's repeating units into 25 types based on the unique sequence variations in each unit of C. elegans (N2). We next perform assembly of the cluster by taking advantage of the long reads that carry these units, which led to an assembly of 5S rDNA cluster consisting of up to 167 consecutive 5S rDNA units in the N2 strain. The ordering and copy number of various rDNA units are consistent with the separation time between strains. Surprisingly, we observed a drastically reduced level of variation in the unit composition in the 5S rDNA cluster in the C. elegans CB4856 and C. briggsae AF16 strains than in the C. elegans N2 strain, suggesting that N2, a widely used reference strain, is likely to be defective in maintaining the 5S rDNA cluster stability compared with other wild isolates of C. elegans or C. briggsae. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that Nanopore DNA sequencing reads are capable of generating assembly of highly repetitive sequences, and rDNA units are highly dynamic both within and between population(s) of the same species in terms of sequence and copy number. The detailed structure and variation of the 5S rDNA units within the rDNA cluster pave the way for functional and evolutionary studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiutao Ding
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Runsheng Li
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xiaoliang Ren
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lu-Yan Chan
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Vincy W S Ho
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Dongying Xie
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Pohao Ye
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Zhongying Zhao
- Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biological Analysis, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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36
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Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has shed light on many aspects of eukaryotic biology, including genetics, development, cell biology, and genomics. A major factor in the success of C. elegans as a model organism has been the availability, since the late 1990s, of an essentially gap-free and well-annotated nuclear genome sequence, divided among 6 chromosomes. In this review, we discuss the structure, function, and biology of C. elegans chromosomes and then provide a general perspective on chromosome biology in other diverse nematode species. We highlight malleable chromosome features including centromeres, telomeres, and repetitive elements, as well as the remarkable process of programmed DNA elimination (historically described as chromatin diminution) that induces loss of portions of the genome in somatic cells of a handful of nematode species. An exciting future prospect is that nematode species may enable experimental approaches to study chromosome features and to test models of chromosome evolution. In the long term, fundamental insights regarding how speciation is integrated with chromosome biology may be revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Carlton
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Richard E Davis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO 80045, USA.,RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Shawn Ahmed
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.,Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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37
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Davis P, Zarowiecki M, Arnaboldi V, Becerra A, Cain S, Chan J, Chen WJ, Cho J, da Veiga Beltrame E, Diamantakis S, Gao S, Grigoriadis D, Grove CA, Harris TW, Kishore R, Le T, Lee RYN, Luypaert M, Müller HM, Nakamura C, Nuin P, Paulini M, Quinton-Tulloch M, Raciti D, Rodgers FH, Russell M, Schindelman G, Singh A, Stickland T, Van Auken K, Wang Q, Williams G, Wright AJ, Yook K, Berriman M, Howe KL, Schedl T, Stein L, Sternberg PW. WormBase in 2022-data, processes, and tools for analyzing Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 2022; 220:6521733. [PMID: 35134929 PMCID: PMC8982018 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 80.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
WormBase (www.wormbase.org) is the central repository for the genetics and genomics of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We provide the research community with data and tools to facilitate the use of C. elegans and related nematodes as model organisms for studying human health, development, and many aspects of fundamental biology. Throughout our 22-year history, we have continued to evolve to reflect progress and innovation in the science and technologies involved in the study of C. elegans. We strive to incorporate new data types and richer data sets, and to provide integrated displays and services that avail the knowledge generated by the published nematode genetics literature. Here, we provide a broad overview of the current state of WormBase in terms of data type, curation workflows, analysis, and tools, including exciting new advances for analysis of single-cell data, text mining and visualization, and the new community collaboration forum. Concurrently, we continue the integration and harmonization of infrastructure, processes, and tools with the Alliance of Genome Resources, of which WormBase is a founding member.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Davis
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Magdalena Zarowiecki
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Valerio Arnaboldi
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Andrés Becerra
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Scott Cain
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Juancarlos Chan
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Wen J Chen
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Jaehyoung Cho
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Eduardo da Veiga Beltrame
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Stavros Diamantakis
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Sibyl Gao
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Dionysis Grigoriadis
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Christian A Grove
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Todd W Harris
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Ranjana Kishore
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Tuan Le
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Raymond Y N Lee
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Manuel Luypaert
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Hans-Michael Müller
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Cecilia Nakamura
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Paulo Nuin
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Michael Paulini
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Mark Quinton-Tulloch
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Daniela Raciti
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Faye H Rodgers
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Matthew Russell
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Gary Schindelman
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Archana Singh
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Tim Stickland
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Kimberly Van Auken
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Qinghua Wang
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Gary Williams
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Adam J Wright
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Karen Yook
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Matt Berriman
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Kevin L Howe
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Tim Schedl
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Lincoln Stein
- Informatics and Bio-computing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, ON M5G0A3, Canada
| | - Paul W Sternberg
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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38
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Engelhardt J, Scheer O, Stadler PF, Prohaska SJ. Evolution of DNA Methylation Across Ecdysozoa. J Mol Evol 2022; 90:56-72. [PMID: 35089376 PMCID: PMC8821070 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-021-10042-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation is a crucial, abundant mechanism of gene regulation in vertebrates. It is less prevalent in many other metazoan organisms and completely absent in some key model species, such as Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. We report here a comprehensive study of the presence and absence of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in 138 Ecdysozoa, covering Arthropoda, Nematoda, Priapulida, Onychophora, and Tardigrada. Three of these phyla have not been investigated for the presence of DNA methylation before. We observe that the loss of individual DNMTs independently occurred multiple times across ecdysozoan phyla. We computationally predict the presence of DNA methylation based on CpG rates in coding sequences using an implementation of Gaussian Mixture Modeling, MethMod. Integrating both analysis we predict two previously unknown losses of DNA methylation in Ecdysozoa, one within Chelicerata (Mesostigmata) and one in Tardigrada. In the early-branching Ecdysozoa Priapulus caudatus, we predict the presence of a full set of DNMTs and the presence of DNA methylation. We are therefore showing a very diverse and independent evolution of DNA methylation in different ecdysozoan phyla spanning a phylogenetic range of more than 700 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Engelhardt
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany. .,Computational EvoDevo Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany. .,Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany. .,Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Oliver Scheer
- Computational EvoDevo Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peter F Stadler
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.,The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd., Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Inselstraße 22, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstraße 17, 1090, Vienna, Austria.,Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad National de Colombia, Sede Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Sonja J Prohaska
- Computational EvoDevo Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.,Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Härtelstraße 16-18, 04107, Leipzig, Germany.,The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Rd., Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA.,Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Josefstädter Str. 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria
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39
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Blaxter M, Archibald JM, Childers AK, Coddington JA, Crandall KA, Di Palma F, Durbin R, Edwards SV, Graves JAM, Hackett KJ, Hall N, Jarvis ED, Johnson RN, Karlsson EK, Kress WJ, Kuraku S, Lawniczak MKN, Lindblad-Toh K, Lopez JV, Moran NA, Robinson GE, Ryder OA, Shapiro B, Soltis PS, Warnow T, Zhang G, Lewin HA. Why sequence all eukaryotes? Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115636118. [PMID: 35042801 PMCID: PMC8795522 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115636118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Life on Earth has evolved from initial simplicity to the astounding complexity we experience today. Bacteria and archaea have largely excelled in metabolic diversification, but eukaryotes additionally display abundant morphological innovation. How have these innovations come about and what constraints are there on the origins of novelty and the continuing maintenance of biodiversity on Earth? The history of life and the code for the working parts of cells and systems are written in the genome. The Earth BioGenome Project has proposed that the genomes of all extant, named eukaryotes-about 2 million species-should be sequenced to high quality to produce a digital library of life on Earth, beginning with strategic phylogenetic, ecological, and high-impact priorities. Here we discuss why we should sequence all eukaryotic species, not just a representative few scattered across the many branches of the tree of life. We suggest that many questions of evolutionary and ecological significance will only be addressable when whole-genome data representing divergences at all of the branchings in the tree of life or all species in natural ecosystems are available. We envisage that a genomic tree of life will foster understanding of the ongoing processes of speciation, adaptation, and organismal dependencies within entire ecosystems. These explorations will resolve long-standing problems in phylogenetics, evolution, ecology, conservation, agriculture, bioindustry, and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Blaxter
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom;
| | - John M Archibald
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4H7, Canada
| | - Anna K Childers
- Bee Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - Jonathan A Coddington
- Global Genome Initiative, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
| | - Keith A Crandall
- Computational Biology Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013
| | - Federica Di Palma
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Durbin
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, United Kingdom
| | - Scott V Edwards
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Jennifer A M Graves
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 751 23, Australia
- University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT 2617, Australia
| | - Kevin J Hackett
- Crop Production and Protection, Office of National Programs, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | - Neil Hall
- Earlham Institute, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7UZ, United Kingdom
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Laboratory of the Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
| | - Rebecca N Johnson
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560
| | - Elinor K Karlsson
- Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - W John Kress
- Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012
| | - Shigehiro Kuraku
- Department of Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
- Laboratory for Phyloinformatics, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
| | | | - Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 23, Sweden
| | - Jose V Lopez
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL 33004
- Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, Dania Beach, FL 33004
| | - Nancy A Moran
- Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
| | - Oliver A Ryder
- Conservation Genetics, Division of Biology, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, CA 92027
- Department of Evolution, Behavior and Ecology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92039
| | - Beth Shapiro
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
| | - Pamela S Soltis
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
| | - Tandy Warnow
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61301
| | - Guojie Zhang
- Villum Center for Biodiversity Genomics, Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
- China National Genebank, Beijing Genomics Institute-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China
| | - Harris A Lewin
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
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40
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Andersen EC, Rockman MV. Natural genetic variation as a tool for discovery in Caenorhabditis nematodes. Genetics 2022; 220:iyab156. [PMID: 35134197 PMCID: PMC8733454 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last 20 years, studies of Caenorhabditis elegans natural diversity have demonstrated the power of quantitative genetic approaches to reveal the evolutionary, ecological, and genetic factors that shape traits. These studies complement the use of the laboratory-adapted strain N2 and enable additional discoveries not possible using only one genetic background. In this chapter, we describe how to perform quantitative genetic studies in Caenorhabditis, with an emphasis on C. elegans. These approaches use correlations between genotype and phenotype across populations of genetically diverse individuals to discover the genetic causes of phenotypic variation. We present methods that use linkage, near-isogenic lines, association, and bulk-segregant mapping, and we describe the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The power of C. elegans quantitative genetic mapping is best shown in the ability to connect phenotypic differences to specific genes and variants. We will present methods to narrow genomic regions to candidate genes and then tests to identify the gene or variant involved in a quantitative trait. The same features that make C. elegans a preeminent experimental model animal contribute to its exceptional value as a tool to understand natural phenotypic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik C Andersen
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
| | - Matthew V Rockman
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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41
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Abstract
Wild populations of the model organism C. elegans represent a valuable resource, allowing for genetic characterization underlying natural phenotypic variation. Here we provide a simple protocol on how to sample and rapidly identify C. elegans wild isolates. We outline how to find suitable habitats and organic substrates, followed by describing isolation and identification of C. elegans live cultures based on easily recognizable morphological characteristics, molecular barcodes, and mating tests. This protocol uses standard laboratory equipment and requires little prior knowledge of C. elegans biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nausicaa Poullet
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, IBV, Nice, France
- URZ, INRAE, Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), France
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42
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Onken B, Sedore CA, Coleman‐Hulbert AL, Hall D, Johnson E, Jones EG, Banse SA, Huynh P, Guo S, Xue J, Chen E, Harinath G, Foulger A, Chao EA, Hope J, Bhaumik D, Plummer T, Inman D, Morshead M, Guo M, Lithgow G, Phillips PC, Driscoll M. Metformin treatment of diverse Caenorhabditis species reveals the importance of genetic background in longevity and healthspan extension outcomes. Aging Cell 2022; 21:e13488. [PMID: 34837316 PMCID: PMC8761014 DOI: 10.1111/acel.13488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Metformin, the most commonly prescribed anti‐diabetes medication, has multiple reported health benefits, including lowering the risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer, improving cognitive function with age, extending survival in diabetic patients, and, in several animal models, promoting youthful physiology and lifespan. Due to its longevity and health effects, metformin is now the focus of the first proposed clinical trial of an anti‐aging drug—the Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) program. Genetic variation will likely influence outcomes when studying metformin health effects in human populations. To test for metformin impact in diverse genetic backgrounds, we measured lifespan and healthspan effects of metformin treatment in three Caenorhabditis species representing genetic variability greater than that between mice and humans. We show that metformin increases median survival in three C. elegans strains, but not in C. briggsae and C. tropicalis strains. In C. briggsae, metformin either has no impact on survival or decreases lifespan. In C. tropicalis, metformin decreases median survival in a dose‐dependent manner. We show that metformin prolongs the period of youthful vigor in all C. elegans strains and in two C. briggsae strains, but that metformin has a negative impact on the locomotion of C. tropicalis strains. Our data demonstrate that metformin can be a robust promoter of healthy aging across different genetic backgrounds, but that genetic variation can determine whether metformin has positive, neutral, or negative lifespan/healthspan impact. These results underscore the importance of tailoring treatment to individuals when testing for metformin health benefits in diverse human populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Onken
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | | | | | - David Hall
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | - Erik Johnson
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA
| | | | - Stephen A. Banse
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon Eugene Oregon USA
| | - Phu Huynh
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Suzhen Guo
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Jian Xue
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Esteban Chen
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Girish Harinath
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Anna C. Foulger
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | | | - June Hope
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | - Dipa Bhaumik
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | - Todd Plummer
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | - Delaney Inman
- The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Novato California USA
| | | | - Max Guo
- Division of Aging Biology National Institute on Aging Bethesda Maryland USA
| | | | | | - Monica Driscoll
- Nelson Biological Laboratories Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Rutgers University Piscataway New Jersey USA
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Insights from C. elegans into Microsporidia Biology and Host-Pathogen Relationships. EXPERIENTIA SUPPLEMENTUM 2022; 114:115-136. [PMID: 35544001 PMCID: PMC9208714 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-93306-7_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Microsporidia are poorly understood, ubiquitous eukaryotic parasites that are completely dependent on their hosts for replication. With the discovery of microsporidia species naturally infecting the genetically tractable transparent nematode C. elegans, this host has been used to explore multiple areas of microsporidia biology. Here we review results about microsporidia infections in C. elegans, which began with the discovery of the intestinal-infecting species Nematocida parisii. Recent findings include new species identification in the Nematocida genus, with more intestinal-infecting species, and also a species with broader tissue tropism, the epidermal and muscle-infecting species Nematocida displodere. This species has a longer polar tube infection apparatus, which may enable its wider tissue range. After invasion, multiple Nematocida species appear to fuse host cells, which likely promotes their dissemination within host organs. Localized proteomics identified Nematocida proteins that have direct contact with the C. elegans intestinal cytosol and nucleus, and many of these host-exposed proteins belong to expanded, species-specific gene families. On the host side, forward genetic screens have identified regulators of the Intracellular Pathogen Response (IPR), which is a transcriptional response induced by both microsporidia and the Orsay virus, which is also a natural, obligate intracellular pathogen of the C. elegans intestine. The IPR constitutes a novel immune/stress response that promotes resistance against microsporidia, virus, and heat shock. Overall, the Nematocida/C. elegans system has provided insights about strategies for microsporidia pathogenesis, as well as innate defense pathways against these parasites.
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Kursel LE, Cope HD, Rog O. Unconventional conservation reveals structure-function relationships in the synaptonemal complex. eLife 2021; 10:72061. [PMID: 34787570 PMCID: PMC8598163 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional requirements constrain protein evolution, commonly manifesting in a conserved amino acid sequence. Here, we extend this idea to secondary structural features by tracking their conservation in essential meiotic proteins with highly diverged sequences. The synaptonemal complex (SC) is a ~100-nm-wide ladder-like meiotic structure present in all eukaryotic clades, where it aligns parental chromosomes and regulates exchanges between them. Despite the conserved ultrastructure and functions of the SC, SC proteins are highly divergent within Caenorhabditis. However, SC proteins have highly conserved length and coiled-coil domain structure. We found the same unconventional conservation signature in Drosophila and mammals, and used it to identify a novel SC protein in Pristionchus pacificus, Ppa-SYP-1. Our work suggests that coiled-coils play wide-ranging roles in the structure and function of the SC, and more broadly, that expanding sequence analysis beyond measures of per-site similarity can enhance our understanding of protein evolution and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa E Kursel
- School of Biological Sciences and Center for Cell and Genome Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
| | - Henry D Cope
- School of Biological Sciences and Center for Cell and Genome Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
| | - Ofer Rog
- School of Biological Sciences and Center for Cell and Genome Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States
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45
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Pujol N, Ewbank JJ. C. elegans: out on an evolutionary limb. Immunogenetics 2021; 74:63-73. [PMID: 34761293 DOI: 10.1007/s00251-021-01231-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The natural environment of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is rich in pathogenic microbes. There is now ample evidence to indicate that these pathogens exert a strong selection pressure on C. elegans, and have shaped its genome, physiology, and behaviour. In this short review, we concentrate on how C. elegans stands out from other animals in terms of its immune repertoire and innate immune signalling pathways. We discuss how C. elegans often detects pathogens because of their effects on essential cellular processes, or organelle integrity, in addition to direct microbial recognition. We illustrate the extensive molecular plasticity that is characteristic of immune defences in C. elegans and highlight some remarkable instances of lineage-specific innovation in innate immune mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Pujol
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, INSERM, CIML, Turing Centre for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
| | - Jonathan J Ewbank
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, INSERM, CIML, Turing Centre for Living Systems, Marseille, France
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Piggott CA, Wu Z, Nurrish S, Xu S, Kaplan JM, Chisholm AD, Jin Y. Caenorhabditis elegans junctophilin has tissue-specific functions and regulates neurotransmission with extended-synaptotagmin. Genetics 2021; 218:iyab063. [PMID: 33871019 PMCID: PMC8864756 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The junctophilin family of proteins tether together plasma membrane (PM) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, and couple PM- and ER-localized calcium channels. Understanding in vivo functions of junctophilins is of great interest for dissecting the physiological roles of ER-PM contact sites. Here, we show that the sole Caenorhabditis elegans junctophilin JPH-1 localizes to discrete membrane contact sites in neurons and muscles and has important tissue-specific functions. jph-1 null mutants display slow growth and development due to weaker contraction of pharyngeal muscles, leading to reduced feeding. In the body wall muscle, JPH-1 colocalizes with the PM-localized EGL-19 voltage-gated calcium channel and ER-localized UNC-68 RyR calcium channel, and is required for animal movement. In neurons, JPH-1 colocalizes with the membrane contact site protein Extended-SYnaptoTagmin 2 (ESYT-2) in the soma, and is present near presynaptic release sites. Interestingly, jph-1 and esyt-2 null mutants display mutual suppression in their response to aldicarb, suggesting that JPH-1 and ESYT-2 have antagonistic roles in neuromuscular synaptic transmission. Additionally, we find an unexpected cell nonautonomous effect of jph-1 in axon regrowth after injury. Genetic double mutant analysis suggests that jph-1 functions in overlapping pathways with two PM-localized voltage-gated calcium channels, egl-19 and unc-2, and with unc-68 for animal health and development. Finally, we show that jph-1 regulates the colocalization of EGL-19 and UNC-68 and that unc-68 is required for JPH-1 localization to ER-PM puncta. Our data demonstrate important roles for junctophilin in cellular physiology, and also provide insights into how junctophilin functions together with other calcium channels in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Piggott
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Zilu Wu
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Stephen Nurrish
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Suhong Xu
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Joshua M Kaplan
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Andrew D Chisholm
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Yishi Jin
- Section of Neurobiology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Van Goor J, Shakes DC, Haag ES. Fisher vs. the Worms: Extraordinary Sex Ratios in Nematodes and the Mechanisms that Produce Them. Cells 2021; 10:1793. [PMID: 34359962 PMCID: PMC8303164 DOI: 10.3390/cells10071793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Parker, Baker, and Smith provided the first robust theory explaining why anisogamy evolves in parallel in multicellular organisms. Anisogamy sets the stage for the emergence of separate sexes, and for another phenomenon with which Parker is associated: sperm competition. In outcrossing taxa with separate sexes, Fisher proposed that the sex ratio will tend towards unity in large, randomly mating populations due to a fitness advantage that accrues in individuals of the rarer sex. This creates a vast excess of sperm over that required to fertilize all available eggs, and intense competition as a result. However, small, inbred populations can experience selection for skewed sex ratios. This is widely appreciated in haplodiploid organisms, in which females can control the sex ratio behaviorally. In this review, we discuss recent research in nematodes that has characterized the mechanisms underlying highly skewed sex ratios in fully diploid systems. These include self-fertile hermaphroditism and the adaptive elimination of sperm competition factors, facultative parthenogenesis, non-Mendelian meiotic oddities involving the sex chromosomes, and environmental sex determination. By connecting sex ratio evolution and sperm biology in surprising ways, these phenomena link two "seminal" contributions of G. A. Parker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Van Goor
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA;
| | - Diane C. Shakes
- Department of Biology, William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187, USA;
| | - Eric S. Haag
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA;
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Schneider L, Guo Y, Birch D, Sarkies P. Network-based visualisation reveals new insights into transposable element diversity. Mol Syst Biol 2021; 17:e9600. [PMID: 34169647 PMCID: PMC8226279 DOI: 10.15252/msb.20209600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Revised: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are widespread across eukaryotic genomes, yet their content varies widely between different species. Factors shaping the diversity of TEs are poorly understood. Understanding the evolution of TEs is difficult because their sequences diversify rapidly and TEs are often transferred through non-conventional means such as horizontal gene transfer. We developed a method to track TE evolution using network analysis to visualise TE sequence and TE content across different genomes. We illustrate our method by first using a monopartite network to study the sequence evolution of Tc1/mariner elements across focal species. We identify a connection between two subfamilies associated with convergent acquisition of a domain from a protein-coding gene. Second, we use a bipartite network to study how TE content across species is shaped by epigenetic silencing mechanisms. We show that the presence of Piwi-interacting RNAs is associated with differences in network topology after controlling for phylogenetic effects. Together, our method demonstrates how a network-based approach can identify hitherto unknown properties of TE evolution across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Schneider
- MRC London Institute of Medical SciencesLondonUK
- Institute of Clinical SciencesImperial CollegeLondonUK
- Data Sciences InstituteImperial CollegeLondonUK
| | - Yi‐Ke Guo
- Data Sciences InstituteImperial CollegeLondonUK
- Present address:
Hong Kong Baptist UniversityKowloon TsaiHong Kong
| | - David Birch
- Data Sciences InstituteImperial CollegeLondonUK
| | - Peter Sarkies
- MRC London Institute of Medical SciencesLondonUK
- Institute of Clinical SciencesImperial CollegeLondonUK
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49
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Craig RJ, Hasan AR, Ness RW, Keightley PD. Comparative genomics of Chlamydomonas. THE PLANT CELL 2021; 33:1016-1041. [PMID: 33793842 PMCID: PMC8226300 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koab026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite its role as a reference organism in the plant sciences, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii entirely lacks genomic resources from closely related species. We present highly contiguous and well-annotated genome assemblies for three unicellular C. reinhardtii relatives: Chlamydomonas incerta, Chlamydomonas schloesseri, and the more distantly related Edaphochlamys debaryana. The three Chlamydomonas genomes are highly syntenous with similar gene contents, although the 129.2 Mb C. incerta and 130.2 Mb C. schloesseri assemblies are more repeat-rich than the 111.1 Mb C. reinhardtii genome. We identify the major centromeric repeat in C. reinhardtii as a LINE transposable element homologous to Zepp (the centromeric repeat in Coccomyxa subellipsoidea) and infer that centromere locations and structure are likely conserved in C. incerta and C. schloesseri. We report extensive rearrangements, but limited gene turnover, between the minus mating type loci of these Chlamydomonas species. We produce an eight-species core-Reinhardtinia whole-genome alignment, which we use to identify several hundred false positive and missing genes in the C. reinhardtii annotation and >260,000 evolutionarily conserved elements in the C. reinhardtii genome. In summary, these resources will enable comparative genomics analyses for C. reinhardtii, significantly extending the analytical toolkit for this emerging model system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ahmed R Hasan
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Onatrio, Canada L5L 1C6
| | - Rob W Ness
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Onatrio, Canada L5L 1C6
| | - Peter D Keightley
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3FL Edinburgh, UK
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50
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The double-stranded DNA-binding proteins TEBP-1 and TEBP-2 form a telomeric complex with POT-1. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2668. [PMID: 33976151 PMCID: PMC8113555 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22861-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres are bound by dedicated proteins, which protect them from DNA damage and regulate telomere length homeostasis. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a comprehensive understanding of the proteins interacting with the telomere sequence is lacking. Here, we harnessed a quantitative proteomics approach to identify TEBP-1 and TEBP-2, two paralogs expressed in the germline and embryogenesis that associate to telomeres in vitro and in vivo. tebp-1 and tebp-2 mutants display strikingly distinct phenotypes: tebp-1 mutants have longer telomeres than wild-type animals, while tebp-2 mutants display shorter telomeres and a Mortal Germline. Notably, tebp-1;tebp-2 double mutant animals have synthetic sterility, with germlines showing signs of severe mitotic and meiotic arrest. Furthermore, we show that POT-1 forms a telomeric complex with TEBP-1 and TEBP-2, which bridges TEBP-1/-2 with POT-2/MRT-1. These results provide insights into the composition and organization of a telomeric protein complex in C. elegans.
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