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Ellis RE. Sex Determination in Nematode Germ Cells. Sex Dev 2022:1-18. [PMID: 35172320 PMCID: PMC9378769 DOI: 10.1159/000520872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal germ cells differentiate as sperm or as oocytes. These sexual fates are controlled by complex regulatory pathways to ensure that the proper gametes are made at the appropriate times. SUMMARY Nematodes like Caenorhabditis elegans and its close relatives are ideal models for studying how this regulation works, because the XX animals are self-fertile hermaphrodites that produce both sperm and oocytes. In these worms, germ cells use the same signal transduction pathway that functions in somatic cells. This pathway determines the activity of the transcription factor TRA-1, a Gli protein that can repress male genes. However, the pathway is extensively modified in germ cells, largely by the action of translational regulators like the PUF proteins. Many of these modifications play critical roles in allowing the XX hermaphrodites to make sperm in an otherwise female body. Finally, TRA-1 cooperates with chromatin regulators in the germ line to control the activity of fog-1 and fog-3, which are essential for spermatogenesis. FOG-1 and FOG-3 work together to determine germ cell fates by blocking the translation of oogenic transcripts. Key Messages: Although there is great diversity in how germ cell fates are controlled in other animals, many of the key nematode genes are conserved, and the critical role of translational regulators may be universal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald E Ellis
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rowan University SOM, Stratford, New Jersey, USA
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Higo A, Niwa M, Yamato KT, Yamada L, Sawada H, Sakamoto T, Kurata T, Shirakawa M, Endo M, Shigenobu S, Yamaguchi K, Ishizaki K, Nishihama R, Kohchi T, Araki T. Transcriptional Framework of Male Gametogenesis in the Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 57:325-38. [PMID: 26858289 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcw005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2015] [Accepted: 12/31/2015] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
In land plants, there are two types of male gametes: one is a non-motile sperm cell which is delivered to the egg cell by a pollen tube, and the other is a motile sperm cell with flagella. The molecular mechanism underlying the sexual reproduction with the egg and pollen-delivered sperm cell is well understood from studies using model plants such as Arabidopsis and rice. On the other hand, the sexual reproduction with motile sperm has remained poorly characterized, due to the lack of suitable models. Marchantia polymorpha L. is a model basal land plant with sexual reproduction involving an egg cell and bi-flagellated motile sperm. To understand the differentiation process of plant motile sperm, we analyzed the gene expression profile of developing antheridia of M. polymorpha. We performed RNA-sequencing experiments and compared transcript profiles of the male sexual organ (antheridiophore and antheridium contained therein), female sexual organ (archegoniophore) and a vegetative organ (thallus). Transcriptome analysis showed that the antheridium expresses nearly half of the protein-coding genes predicted in the genome, but it also has unique features. The antheridium transcriptome shares some common features with male gamete transcriptomes of angiosperms and animals, and homologs of genes involved in male gamete formation and function in angiosperms and animals were identified. In addition, we showed that some of them had distinct expression patterns in the spermatogenous tissue of developing antheridia. This study provides a transcriptional framework on which to study the molecular mechanism of plant motile sperm development in M. polymorpha as a model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asuka Higo
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
| | - Masaki Niwa
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
| | - Katsuyuki T Yamato
- Faculty of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kinki University, Kinokawa, 649-6493 Japan
| | - Lixy Yamada
- Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Toba, 517-0004 Japan
| | - Hitoshi Sawada
- Sugashima Marine Biological Laboratory, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Toba, 517-0004 Japan
| | - Tomoaki Sakamoto
- Plant Global Education Project, Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, 630-0192 Japan Present address: Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, 603-8555 Japan
| | - Tetsuya Kurata
- Plant Global Education Project, Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, 630-0192 Japan Present address: Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578 Japan
| | - Makoto Shirakawa
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan Present address: Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Motomu Endo
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
| | - Shuji Shigenobu
- National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, 444-8585 Japan
| | | | | | - Ryuichi Nishihama
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
| | - Takayuki Kohchi
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
| | - Takashi Araki
- Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8501 Japan
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Abstract
Plant reproduction meetings often deal either with pre-fertilization processes such as flowering and pollen biology or post-fertilization processes such as embryogenesis and seed development. The Biochemical Society Focused Meeting entitled 'Regulation of Fertilization and Early Seed Development' was organized to close this gap and to discuss mechanistic similarities and future research directions in the reproductive processes shortly before, during and after fertilization. As an outcome of the workshop, invited speakers and a few selected oral communication presenters contributed focused reviews and technical articles for this issue of Biochemical Society Transactions. We provide here a short overview of the contents and highlights of the various articles.
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