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Zhang P, Chen J, Wang X, Geng Y, Sun L, Zhang H. The centralspindlin complex regulates cytokinesis and morphogenesis in the C. elegans spermatheca. Development 2023; 150:286720. [PMID: 36661358 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200840] [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] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Organ morphogenesis needs orchestration of a series of cellular events, including cell division, cell shape change, cell rearrangement and cell death. Cytokinesis, the final step of cell division, is involved in the control of organ size, shape and function. Mechanistically, it is unclear how the molecules involved in cytokinesis regulate organ size and shape. Here, we demonstrate that the centralspindlin complex coordinates cell division and epithelial morphogenesis by regulating cytokinesis. Loss of the centralspindlin components CYK-4 and ZEN-4 disrupts cell division, resulting in altered cell arrangement and malformation of the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca. Further investigation revealed that most spermathecal cells undergo nuclear division without completion of cytokinesis. Germline mutant-based analyses suggest that CYK-4 regulates cytokinesis of spermathecal cells in a GTPase activator activity-independent manner. Spermathecal morphology defects can be enhanced by double knockdown of rho-1 and cyk-4, and partially suppressed by double knockdown of cdc-42 and cyk-4. Thus, the centralspindlin components CYK-4 and ZEN-4, together with RHO-1 and CDC-42, are central players of a signaling network that guides spermathecal morphogenesis by enabling completion of cytokinesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Zhang
- Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Jiwei Chen
- Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Xiangchuan Wang
- Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Yingchao Geng
- Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Liangyu Sun
- Biological Imaging and Stem Cell Core, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Hongjie Zhang
- Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
- MoE Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
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Winkenbach LP, Parker DM, Williams RTP, Nishimura EO. The ERM-1 membrane-binding domain directs erm-1 mRNA localization to the plasma membrane in the C. elegans embryo. Development 2022; 149:279335. [PMID: 36314842 PMCID: PMC9793419 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
mRNA localization and transport are integral in regulating gene expression. In Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, the maternally inherited mRNA erm-1 (Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin) becomes concentrated in anterior blastomeres. erm-1 mRNA localizes within those blastomeres to the plasma membrane where the essential ERM-1 protein, a membrane-actin linker, is also found. We demonstrate that the localization of erm-1 mRNA to the plasma membrane is translation dependent and requires its encoded N-terminal, membrane-binding (FERM) domain. By perturbing translation through multiple methods, we found that erm-1 mRNA localization at the plasma membrane persisted only if the nascent peptide remained in complex with the translating mRNA. Indeed, re-coding the erm-1 mRNA coding sequence while preserving the encoded amino acid sequence did not disrupt erm-1 mRNA localization, corroborating that the information directing mRNA localization resides within its membrane-binding protein domain. A single-molecule inexpensive fluorescence in situ hybridization screen of 17 genes encoding similar membrane-binding domains identified three plasma membrane-localized mRNAs in the early embryo. Ten additional transcripts showed potential membrane localization later in development. These findings point to a translation-dependent pathway for localization of mRNAs encoding membrane-associated proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay P. Winkenbach
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Dylan M. Parker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Robert T. P. Williams
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Erin Osborne Nishimura
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA,Author for correspondence ()
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Shah P, Bao Z, Zaidel-Bar R. Visualizing and quantifying molecular and cellular processes in C. elegans using light microscopy. Genetics 2022; 221:6619563. [PMID: 35766819 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac068] [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: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Light microscopes are the cell and developmental biologists' "best friend", providing a means to see structures and follow dynamics from the protein to the organism level. A huge advantage of C. elegans as a model organism is its transparency, which coupled with its small size means that nearly every biological process can be observed and measured with the appropriate probe and light microscope. Continuous improvement in microscope technologies along with novel genome editing techniques to create transgenic probes have facilitated the development and implementation of a dizzying array of methods for imaging worm embryos, larvae and adults. In this review we provide an overview of the molecular and cellular processes that can be visualized in living worms using light microscopy. A partial inventory of fluorescent probes and techniques successfully used in worms to image the dynamics of cells, organelles, DNA, and protein localization and activity is followed by a practical guide to choosing between various imaging modalities, including widefield, confocal, lightsheet, and structured illumination microscopy. Finally, we discuss the available tools and approaches, including machine learning, for quantitative image analysis tasks, such as colocalization, segmentation, object tracking, and lineage tracing. Hopefully, this review will inspire worm researchers who have not yet imaged their worms to begin, and push those who are imaging to go faster, finer, and longer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavak Shah
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles 90095, USA
| | - Zhirong Bao
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Ronen Zaidel-Bar
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
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Sun P, Zou W. Research progress of live-cell RNA imaging techniques. Zhejiang Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban 2022; 51:362-372. [PMID: 36207827 PMCID: PMC9511491 DOI: 10.3724/zdxbyxb-2022-0017] [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] [Received: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules play diverse roles in many physiological and pathological processes as they interact with various nucleic acids and proteins. The various biological processes of RNA are highly dynamic. Tracking RNA dynamics in living cells is crucial for a better understanding of the spatiotemporal control of gene expression and the regulatory roles of RNA. Genetically encoded RNA-tagging systems include MS2/MCP, PP7/PCP, boxB/λN22 and CRISPR-Cas. The MS2/MCP system is the most widely applied, and it has the advantages of stable binding and high signal-to-noise ratio, while the realization of RNA imaging requires gene editing of the target RNA, which may change the characteristics of the target RNA. Recently developed CRISPR-dCas13 system does not require RNA modification, but the uncertainty in CRISPR RNA (crRNA) efficiency and low signal-to-noise ratio are its limitations. Fluorescent dye-based RNA-tagging systems include molecular beacons and fluorophore-binding aptamers. The molecular beacons have high specificity and high signal-to-noise ratio; Mango and Peppers outperform the other RNA-tagging system in signal-to-noise, but they also need gene editing. Live-cell RNA imaging allows us to visualize critical steps of RNA activities, including transcription, splicing, transport, translation (for message RNA only) and subcellular localization. It will contribute to studying biological processes such as cell differentiation and the transcriptional regulation mechanism when cells adapt to the external environment, and it improves our understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of various diseases caused by abnormal RNA behavior and helps to find potential therapeutic targets. This review provides an overview of current progress of live-cell RNA imaging techniques and highlights their major strengths and limitations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingping Sun
- 1. The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, Zhejiang Province, China
- 2. Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wei Zou
- 1. The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, Zhejiang Province, China
- 2. Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Tocchini C, Rohner M, Guerard L, Ray P, Von Stetina SE, Mango SE. Translation-dependent mRNA localization to Caenorhabditis elegans adherens junctions. Development 2021; 148:273751. [PMID: 34846063 PMCID: PMC8722394 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200027] [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: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
mRNA localization is an evolutionarily widespread phenomenon that can facilitate subcellular protein targeting. Extensive work has focused on mRNA targeting through ‘zip-codes’ within untranslated regions (UTRs), whereas much less is known about translation-dependent cues. Here, we examine mRNA localization in Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic epithelia. From an smFISH-based survey, we identified mRNAs associated with the cell membrane or cortex, and with apical junctions in a stage- and cell type-specific manner. Mutational analyses for one of these transcripts, dlg-1/discs large, revealed that it relied on a translation-dependent process and did not require its 5′ or 3′ UTRs. We suggest a model in which dlg-1 transcripts are co-translationally localized with the nascent protein: first the translating complex goes to the cell membrane using sequences located at the C-terminal/3′ end, and then apically using N-terminal/5′ sequences. These studies identify a translation-based process for mRNA localization within developing epithelia and determine the necessary cis-acting sequences for dlg-1 mRNA targeting. Summary: An smFISH-based survey identifies a subset of mRNAs encoding junctional components that localize at or in proximity to the adherens junction through a translation-dependent mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michèle Rohner
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Poulomi Ray
- Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | | | - Susan E Mango
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
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