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Kiontke K, Fernandez P, Woronik A, Fitch DHA. Morphologically defined substages of tail morphogenesis in C. elegans males. Dev Dyn 2024. [PMID: 38924277 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex-specific morphogenesis occurs in Caenorhabditis elegans in the vulva of the hermaphrodite and in the male tail during the last larval stage. Temporal progression of vulva morphogenesis has been described in fine detail. However, a similar precise description of male tail morphogenesis was lacking. RESULTS We here describe morphogenesis of the male tail at time points matching vulva development with special focus on morphogenesis of the tail tip. Using fluorescent reporters, we follow changes in cell shapes, cell fusions, nuclear migration, modifications in the basement membrane, and formation of a new apical extracellular matrix at the end of the tail. CONCLUSION Our analysis answers two open questions about tail tip morphogenesis (TTM) by showing that one of the four tail tip cells, hyp11, remains largely separate, while the other cells fully fuse with each other and with two additional tail cells to form a ventral tail syncytium. This merger of cells begins at the apical surface early during TTM but is only completed toward the end of the process. This work provides a framework for future investigations of cell biological factors that drive male tail morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Kiontke
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | | | | | - David H A Fitch
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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Kiontke K, Fernandez P, Woronik A, Fitch DHA. Morphologically defined substages of tail morphogenesis in C. elegans males. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.11.575265. [PMID: 38293029 PMCID: PMC10827050 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.11.575265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Background Sex-specific morphogenesis occurs in C. elegans in the vulva of the hermaphrodite and in the male tail during the last larval stage. Temporal progression of vulva morphogenesis has been described in fine detail. However, a similar precise description of male tail morphogenesis was lacking. Results We here describe morphogenesis of the male tail at time points matching vulva development with special focus on morphogenesis of the tail tip. Using fluorescent reporters, we follow changes in cell shapes, cell fusions, nuclear migration, modifications in the basement membrane and formation of a new apical extracellular matrix at the end of the tail. Conclusion Our analysis answers two open questions about tail tip morphogenesis (TTM) by showing that one of the four tail tip cells, hyp11, remains separate while the other cells fuse with each other and with two additional tail cells to form a ventral tail syncytium. This fusion begins early during TTM but is only completed towards the end of the process. This work provides a framework for future investigations of cell-biological factors that drive male tail morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Kiontke
- Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square E., New York, NY 10003
| | - Porfirio Fernandez
- Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square E., New York, NY 10003
| | - Alyssa Woronik
- Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06825
| | - David H A Fitch
- Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square E., New York, NY 10003
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Sherwood DR, Kenny-Ganzert IW, Balachandar Thendral S. Translational regulation of cell invasion through extracellular matrix-an emerging role for ribosomes. F1000Res 2023; 12:1528. [PMID: 38628976 PMCID: PMC11019292 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.143519.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Many developmental and physiological processes require cells to invade and migrate through extracellular matrix barriers. This specialized cellular behavior is also misregulated in many diseases, such as immune disorders and cancer. Cell invasive activity is driven by pro-invasive transcriptional networks that activate the expression of genes encoding numerous different proteins that expand and regulate the cytoskeleton, endomembrane system, cell adhesion, signaling pathways, and metabolic networks. While detailed mechanistic studies have uncovered crucial insights into pro-invasive transcriptional networks and the distinct cell biological attributes of invasive cells, less is known about how invasive cells modulate mRNA translation to meet the robust, dynamic, and unique protein production needs of cell invasion. In this review we outline known modes of translation regulation promoting cell invasion and focus on recent studies revealing elegant mechanisms that expand ribosome biogenesis within invasive cells to meet the increased protein production requirements to invade and migrate through extracellular matrix barriers.
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Schwartz AZA, Abdu Y, Nance J. ZIF-1-mediated degradation of zinc finger proteins in the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line. Genetics 2023; 225:iyad160. [PMID: 37647858 PMCID: PMC10627257 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad160] [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: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid and conditional protein depletion is the gold standard genetic tool for deciphering the molecular basis of developmental processes. Previously, we showed that by conditionally expressing the E3 ligase substrate adaptor ZIF-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans somatic cells, proteins tagged with the first CCCH Zn finger 1 (ZF1) domain from the germline regulator PIE-1 degrade rapidly, resulting in loss-of-function phenotypes. The described role of ZIF-1 is to clear PIE-1 and several other CCCH Zn finger proteins from early somatic cells, helping to enrich them in germline precursor cells. Here, we show that proteins tagged with the PIE-1 ZF1 domain are subsequently cleared from primordial germ cells (PGCs) in embryos and from undifferentiated germ cells in larvae and adults by ZIF-1. We harness germline ZIF-1 activity to degrade a ZF1-tagged fusion protein from PGCs and show that its depletion produces phenotypes equivalent to those of a null mutation. Our findings reveal that ZIF-1 transitions from degrading CCCH Zn finger proteins in somatic cells to clearing them from undifferentiated germ cells, and that ZIF-1 activity can be harnessed as a new genetic tool to study the early germline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Z A Schwartz
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Yusuff Abdu
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Jeremy Nance
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
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Myles KM, Vo AA, Ragle JM, Ward JD. A spontaneous TIR1 loss-of-function allele in C. elegans. MICROPUBLICATION BIOLOGY 2023; 2023:10.17912/micropub.biology.000994. [PMID: 37908494 PMCID: PMC10613879 DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
The auxin-inducible degron (AID) system is a widely-used system for conditional protein depletion. During the course of an experiment, we depleted the nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor NHR-23 to study molting, and we recovered a spontaneous suppressor allele that bypassed the L1 larval arrest caused by NHR-23 depletion. These mutants also failed to deplete a BFP::AID reporter in the strain background, suggesting a broader defect in the AID system. These animals carried an in-frame 18 base pair insertion that produced a 6 amino acid repeat in TIR1. The larval arrest in these animals could be restored by expressing a wild-type TIR1 transgene from an extrachromosomal array. Sister siblings that lost this array developed normally on auxin. Together, these experiments indicate that the TIR1 mutation was causing the loss of developmental arrest in the nhr-23::AID strain. This result highlights the importance of setting up a robust secondary screen to detect such mutants if performing forward genetic screens in conjunction with the AID system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krista M. Myles
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States
| | - An A. Vo
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States
| | - James Matthew Ragle
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States
| | - Jordan D. Ward
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, United States
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Schwartz AZ, Abdu Y, Nance J. ZIF-1-mediated degradation of endogenous and heterologous zinc finger proteins in the C. elegans germ line. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.10.548405. [PMID: 37502839 PMCID: PMC10369855 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.10.548405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Rapid and conditional protein depletion is the gold standard genetic tool for deciphering the molecular basis of developmental processes. Previously, we showed that by conditionally expressing the E3 ligase substrate adaptor ZIF-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans somatic cells, proteins tagged with the first CCCH Zn finger (ZF1) domain from the germline regulator PIE-1 degrade rapidly, resulting in loss-of-function phenotypes. The described role of ZIF-1 is to clear PIE-1 and several other CCCH Zn finger proteins from early somatic cells, helping to enrich them in germline precursor cells. Here, we show that proteins tagged with the PIE-1 ZF1 domain are subsequently cleared from primordial germ cells in embryos and from undifferentiated germ cells in larvae and adults by ZIF-1. We harness germline ZIF-1 activity to degrade a ZF1-tagged heterologous protein from PGCs and show that its depletion produces phenotypes equivalent to those of a null mutation. Our findings reveal that ZIF-1 switches roles from degrading CCCH Zn finger proteins in somatic cells to clearing them from undifferentiated germ cells, and that ZIF-1 activity can be harnessed as a new genetic tool to study the early germ line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Z.A. Schwartz
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
| | - Yusuff Abdu
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
| | - Jeremy Nance
- Department of Cell Biology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
- Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York NY 10016
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Sun N, Hu J, Li C, Wang X, Gai Y, Jiang X. Fusion gene 4CL-CCR promotes lignification in tobacco suspension cells. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2023; 42:939-952. [PMID: 36964306 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-023-03002-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
KEY MESSAGE The fusion gene 4CL-CCR promotes lignification and activates lignin-related MYB expression in tobacco but inhibits auxin-related gene expression and hinders the auxin absorption of cells. Given the importance of lignin polymers in plant growth and their industrial value, it is necessary to investigate how plants synthesize monolignols and regulate the level of lignin in cell walls. In our previous study, expression of the Populus tomentosa fusion gene 4CL-CCR significantly promoted the production of 4-hydroxycinnamyl alcohols. However, the function of 4CL-CCR in organisms remains poorly understood. In this study, the fusion gene 4CL-CCR was heterologously expressed in tobacco suspension cells. We found that the transgenic suspension cells exhibited lignification earlier. Furthermore, 4CL-CCR significantly reduced the content of phenolic acids and increased the content of aldehydes in the medium, which led to an increase in lignin deposition. Moreover, transcriptome results showed that the genes related to lignin synthesis, such as PAL, 4CL, CCoAOMT and CAD, were significantly upregulated in the 4CL-CCR group. The expression of genes related to auxin, such as ARF3, ARF5 and ARF6, was significantly downregulated. The downregulation of auxin affected the expression of transcription factor MYBs. We hypothesize that the upregulated genes MYB306 and MYB315 are involved in the regulation of cell morphogenesis and lignin biosynthesis and eventually enhance lignification in tobacco suspension cells. Our findings provide insight into the function of 4CL-CCR in lignification and how secondary cell walls are formed in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jiaqi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Can Li
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xuechun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Ying Gai
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Xiangning Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology , Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, 100083, China.
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