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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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Ange JS, Weng Y, Stevenson ME, Kaletsky R, Moore RS, Zhou S, Murphy CT. Adult Single-nucleus Neuronal Transcriptomes of Insulin Signaling Mutants Reveal Regulators of Behavior and Learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.07.579364. [PMID: 38370779 PMCID: PMC10871314 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.07.579364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
The insulin/insulin-like signaling (IIS) pathway regulates many of C. elegans' adult functions, including learning and memory 1 . While whole-worm and tissue-specific transcriptomic analyses have identified IIS targets 2,3 , a higher-resolution single-cell approach is required to identify changes that confer neuron-specific improvements in the long-lived insulin receptor mutant, daf-2 . To understand how behaviors that are controlled by a small number of neurons change in daf-2 mutants, we used the deep resolution of single-nucleus RNA sequencing to define each neuron type's transcriptome in adult wild-type and daf-2 mutants. First, we found surprising differences between wild-type L4 larval neurons and young adult neurons in chemoreceptor expression, synaptic genes, and learning and memory genes. These Day 1 adult neuron transcriptomes allowed us to identify adult AWC-specific regulators of chemosensory function and to predict neuron-to-neuron peptide/receptor pairs. We then identified gene expression changes that correlate with daf-2's improved cognitive functions, particularly in the AWC sensory neuron that controls learning and associative memory 4 , and used behavioral assays to test their roles in cognitive function. Combining deep single-neuron transcriptomics, genetic manipulation, and behavioral analyses enabled us to identify genes that may function in a single adult neuron to control behavior, including conserved genes that function in learning and memory. One-Sentence Summary Single-nucleus sequencing of adult wild-type and daf-2 C. elegans neurons reveals functionally relevant transcriptional changes, including regulators of chemosensation, learning, and memory.
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Woodruff GC, Willis JH, Johnson E, Phillips PC. Widespread changes in gene expression accompany body size evolution in nematodes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.30.564729. [PMID: 37961435 PMCID: PMC10635002 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.30.564729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
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 C. 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 orthologs with divergent dynamics across this developmental period between the two 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 TGF-β signaling revealed idiosyncratic and unexpected transcriptional patterns given their role in body size regulation in C. elegans. Widespread transcriptional divergence between these species is unexpected and may be 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
- University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Current institution: University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
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YTHDF3 Is Involved in the Diapause Process of Bivoltine Bombyx mori Strains by Regulating the Expression of Cyp307a1 and Cyp18a1 Genes in the Ecdysone Synthesis Pathway. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081127. [PMID: 36009021 PMCID: PMC9406231 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081127] [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] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The variable diapause features of bivoltine silkworm (Bombyx mori) strains regulated by environmental signals in the embryonic stage are closely related to epigenetics. Previously, we showed that the expression of YTHDF3 is significantly different in the pupae of the bivoltine silkworm Qiufeng developed from eggs incubated at a normal temperature (QFHT, diapause egg producer) compared to those from eggs incubated at a low temperature (QFLT, nondiapause egg producer), indicating that the expression of diapause-associated genes is regulated by the m6A modification level. However, how YTHDF3 regulates the expression of diapause-related genes remains unclear. In this study, we observed that the knockdown of B. mori YTHDF3 resulted in delayed embryo development, while the overexpression of YTHDF3 resulted in the transformation of nondiapause-destined eggs into a mixture of diapause and nondiapause eggs. Further studies showed that YTHDF3, as a reading protein, can recognize the m6A site of Cyp307a1 and Cyp18a1 genes in the ecdysone synthesis pathway (ESP), and the overexpression of YTHDF3 affects the diapause traits of the silkworm by decreasing the stabilities of mRNAs of Cyp307a1 and Cyp18a1 and inhibiting their translation. The above results demonstrate that m6A modification mediates YTHDF3 to affect the expression levels of its target genes, Cyp307a1 and Cyp18a1, in the ESP to regulate diapause in bivoltine B. mori. This is the first report of the m6A methylation regulation mechanism in diapause in B. mori and provides new experimental data for clarifying the diapause regulation network.
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Breimann L, Morao AK, Kim J, Jimenez DS, Maryn N, Bikkasani K, Carrozza MJ, Albritton SE, Kramer M, Street LA, Cerimi K, Schumann VF, Bahry E, Preibisch S, Woehler A, Ercan S. The H4K20 demethylase DPY-21 regulates the dynamics of condensin DC binding. J Cell Sci 2021; 135:273768. [PMID: 34918745 PMCID: PMC8917352 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.258818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Condensin is a multi-subunit structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complex that binds to and compacts chromosomes. Here, we addressed the regulation of condensin binding dynamics using Caenorhabditis elegans condensin DC, which represses X chromosomes in hermaphrodites for dosage compensation. We established fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) using the SMC4 homolog DPY-27 and showed that a well-characterized ATPase mutation abolishes DPY-27 binding to X chromosomes. Next, we performed FRAP in the background of several chromatin modifier mutants that cause varying degrees of X chromosome derepression. The greatest effect was in a null mutant of the H4K20me2 demethylase DPY-21, where the mobile fraction of condensin DC reduced from ∼30% to 10%. In contrast, a catalytic mutant of dpy-21 did not regulate condensin DC mobility. Hi-C sequencing data from the dpy-21 null mutant showed little change compared to wild-type data, uncoupling Hi-C-measured long-range DNA contacts from transcriptional repression of the X chromosomes. Taken together, our results indicate that DPY-21 has a non-catalytic role in regulating the dynamics of condensin DC binding, which is important for transcription repression. Summary: The histone demethylase DPY-21 has catalytic and non-catalytic roles in condensin DC-mediated X chromosome repression. The non-catalytic activity regulates dynamics of condensin DC binding to X chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Breimann
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Institute for Biology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ana Karina Morao
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jun Kim
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - David Sebastian Jimenez
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nina Maryn
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Krishna Bikkasani
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Carrozza
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sarah E Albritton
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Maxwell Kramer
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lena Annika Street
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kustrim Cerimi
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vic-Fabienne Schumann
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ella Bahry
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Preibisch
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.,Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Andrew Woehler
- Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sevinç Ercan
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Rawsthorne H, Calahorro F, Holden-Dye L, O’ Connor V, Dillon J. Investigating autism associated genes in C. elegans reveals candidates with a role in social behaviour. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0243121. [PMID: 34043629 PMCID: PMC8158995 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by a triad of behavioural impairments and includes disruption in social behaviour. ASD has a clear genetic underpinning and hundreds of genes are implicated in its aetiology. However, how single penetrant genes disrupt activity of neural circuits which lead to affected behaviours is only beginning to be understood and less is known about how low penetrant genes interact to disrupt emergent behaviours. Investigations are well served by experimental approaches that allow tractable investigation of the underpinning genetic basis of circuits that control behaviours that operate in the biological domains that are neuro-atypical in autism. The model organism C. elegans provides an experimental platform to investigate the effect of genetic mutations on behavioural outputs including those that impact social biology. Here we use progeny-derived social cues that modulate C. elegans food leaving to assay genetic determinants of social behaviour. We used the SAFRI Gene database to identify C. elegans orthologues of human ASD associated genes. We identified a number of mutants that displayed selective deficits in response to progeny. The genetic determinants of this complex social behaviour highlight the important contribution of synaptopathy and implicates genes within cell signalling, epigenetics and phospholipid metabolism functional domains. The approach overlaps with a growing number of studies that investigate potential molecular determinants of autism in C. elegans. However, our use of a complex, sensory integrative, emergent behaviour provides routes to enrich new or underexplored biology with the identification of novel candidate genes with a definable role in social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Rawsthorne
- School of Biological Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Fernando Calahorro
- School of Biological Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Lindy Holden-Dye
- School of Biological Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent O’ Connor
- School of Biological Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - James Dillon
- School of Biological Sciences, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Pees B, Yang W, Kloock A, Petersen C, Peters L, Fan L, Friedrichsen M, Butze S, Zárate-Potes A, Schulenburg H, Dierking K. Effector and regulator: Diverse functions of C. elegans C-type lectin-like domain proteins. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009454. [PMID: 33793670 PMCID: PMC8051790 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In C. elegans, 283 clec genes encode a highly diverse family of C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) proteins. Since vertebrate CTLD proteins have characterized functions in defense responses against pathogens and since expression of C. elegans clec genes is pathogen-dependent, it is generally assumed that clec genes function in C. elegans immune defenses. However, little is known about the relative contribution and exact function of CLEC proteins in C. elegans immunity. Here, we focused on the C. elegans clec gene clec-4, whose expression is highly upregulated by pathogen infection, and its paralogs clec-41 and clec-42. We found that, while mutation of clec-4 resulted in enhanced resistance to the Gram-positive pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis MYBt18247 (Bt247), inactivation of clec-41 and clec-42 by RNAi enhanced susceptibility to Bt247. Further analyses revealed that enhanced resistance of clec-4 mutants to Bt247 was due to an increase in feeding cessation on the pathogen and consequently a decrease in pathogen load. Moreover, clec-4 mutants exhibited feeding deficits also on non-pathogenic bacteria that were in part reflected in the clec-4 gene expression profile, which overlapped with gene sets affected by starvation or mutation in nutrient sensing pathways. However, loss of CLEC-4 function only mildly affected life-history traits such as fertility, indicating that clec-4 mutants are not subjected to dietary restriction. While CLEC-4 function appears to be associated with the regulation of feeding behavior, we show that CLEC-41 and CLEC-42 proteins likely function as bona fide immune effector proteins that have bacterial binding and antimicrobial capacities. Together, our results exemplify functional diversification within clec gene paralogs. C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) containing proteins fulfill various and fundamental tasks in the human and mouse immune system. Genes encoding CTLD proteins are present in all animal genomes, in some cases in very large numbers and highly diversified. While the function of several vertebrate CTLD proteins is well characterized, experimental evidence of an immune function of most invertebrate CTLD proteins is missing, although their role in immunity is usually assumed. We here explore the immune function of three related CTLD proteins in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that they play diverse roles in C. elegans immunity, functioning as antimicrobial immune effector proteins that are important for defense against pathogen infection and probably directly interact with bacteria, but also regulators of feeding behavior that more indirectly affect C. elegans pathogen resistance. Such insight into the functional consequence of invertebrate CTLD protein diversification contributes to our understanding of the evolution of innate and invertebrate immune systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Pees
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Comparative Immunobiology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Wentao Yang
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Anke Kloock
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Carola Petersen
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Comparative Immunobiology, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Lena Peters
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Li Fan
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Meike Friedrichsen
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Sabrina Butze
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Alejandra Zárate-Potes
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Hinrich Schulenburg
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Ploen, Germany
| | - Katja Dierking
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Baugh LR, Hu PJ. Starvation Responses Throughout the Caenorhabditiselegans Life Cycle. Genetics 2020; 216:837-878. [PMID: 33268389 PMCID: PMC7768255 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.120.303565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans survives on ephemeral food sources in the wild, and the species has a variety of adaptive responses to starvation. These features of its life history make the worm a powerful model for studying developmental, behavioral, and metabolic starvation responses. Starvation resistance is fundamental to life in the wild, and it is relevant to aging and common diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Worms respond to acute starvation at different times in the life cycle by arresting development and altering gene expression and metabolism. They also anticipate starvation during early larval development, engaging an alternative developmental program resulting in dauer diapause. By arresting development, these responses postpone growth and reproduction until feeding resumes. A common set of signaling pathways mediates systemic regulation of development in each context but with important distinctions. Several aspects of behavior, including feeding, foraging, taxis, egg laying, sleep, and associative learning, are also affected by starvation. A variety of conserved signaling, gene regulatory, and metabolic mechanisms support adaptation to starvation. Early life starvation can have persistent effects on adults and their descendants. With its short generation time, C. elegans is an ideal model for studying maternal provisioning, transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and developmental origins of adult health and disease in humans. This review provides a comprehensive overview of starvation responses throughout the C. elegans life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Ryan Baugh
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 and
| | - Patrick J Hu
- Departments of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
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Li X, Itani OA, Haataja L, Dumas KJ, Yang J, Cha J, Flibotte S, Shih HJ, Delaney CE, Xu J, Qi L, Arvan P, Liu M, Hu PJ. Requirement for translocon-associated protein (TRAP) α in insulin biogenesis. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaax0292. [PMID: 31840061 PMCID: PMC6892615 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The mechanistic basis for the biogenesis of peptide hormones and growth factors is poorly understood. Here, we show that the conserved endoplasmic reticulum membrane translocon-associated protein α (TRAPα), also known as signal sequence receptor 1, plays a critical role in the biosynthesis of insulin. Genetic analysis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and biochemical studies in pancreatic β cells reveal that TRAPα deletion impairs preproinsulin translocation while unexpectedly disrupting distal steps in insulin biogenesis including proinsulin processing and secretion. The association of common intronic single-nucleotide variants in the human TRAPα gene with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and pancreatic β cell dysfunction suggests that impairment of preproinsulin translocation and proinsulin trafficking may contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Li
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Omar A. Itani
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Leena Haataja
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kathleen J. Dumas
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jeeyeon Cha
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephane Flibotte
- Departments of Zoology and Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Hung-Jen Shih
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Colin E. Delaney
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jialu Xu
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Ling Qi
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Peter Arvan
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ming Liu
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Patrick J. Hu
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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Prasanth MI, Venkatesh D, Murali D, Bhaskar JP, Krishnan V, Balamurugan K. Understanding the role of DAF-16 mediated pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans during UV-A mediated photoaging process. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2019; 82:279-285. [DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2019.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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11
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Zheng S, Chiu H, Boudreau J, Papanicolaou T, Bendena W, Chin-Sang I. A functional study of all 40 Caenorhabditis elegans insulin-like peptides. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:16912-16922. [PMID: 30206121 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.004542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Revised: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The human genome encodes 10 insulin-like genes, whereas the Caenorhabditis elegans genome remarkably encodes 40 insulin-like genes. Knockout strategies to determine the roles of all the insulin/insulin-like peptide ligands (INS) in C. elegans has been challenging due to functional redundancy. Here, we individually overexpressed each of the 40 ins genes pan-neuronally, and monitored multiple phenotypes including: L1 arrest life span, neuroblast divisions under L1 arrest, dauer formation, and fat accumulation, as readouts to characterize the functions of each INS in vivo Of the 40 INS peptides, we found functions for 35 INS peptides and functionally categorized each as agonists, antagonists, or of pleiotropic function. In particular, we found that 9 of 16 agonistic INS peptides shortened L1 arrest life span and promoted neuroblast divisions during L1 arrest. Our study revealed that a subset of β-class INS peptides that contain a distinct F peptide sequence are agonists. Our work is the first to categorize the structures of INS peptides and relate these structures to the functions of all 40 INS peptides in vivo Our findings will promote the study of insulin function on development, metabolism, and aging-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanqing Zheng
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Hilton Chiu
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Boudreau
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Tony Papanicolaou
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - William Bendena
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Ian Chin-Sang
- From the Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
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A Simple Method for Visualization of Locus-Specific H4K20me1 Modifications in Living Caenorhabditis elegans Single Cells. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2018; 8:2249-2255. [PMID: 29724885 PMCID: PMC6027889 DOI: 10.1534/g3.118.200333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Recently, advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled genome-wide analyses of epigenetic modifications; however, it remains difficult to analyze the states of histone modifications at a single-cell resolution in living multicellular organisms because of the heterogeneity within cellular populations. Here we describe a simple method to visualize histone modifications on the specific sequence of target locus at a single-cell resolution in living Caenorhabditis elegans, by combining the LacO/LacI system and a genetically-encoded H4K20me1-specific probe, “mintbody”. We demonstrate that Venus-labeled mintbody and mTurquoise2-labeled LacI can co-localize on an artificial chromosome carrying both the target locus and LacO sequences, where H4K20me1 marks the target locus. We demonstrate that our visualization method can precisely detect H4K20me1 depositions on the her-1 gene sequences on the artificial chromosome, to which the dosage compensation complex binds to regulate sex determination. The degree of H4K20me1 deposition on the her-1 sequences on the artificial chromosome correlated strongly with sex, suggesting that, using the artificial chromosome, this method can reflect context-dependent changes of H4K20me1 on endogenous genomes. Furthermore, we demonstrate live imaging of H4K20me1 depositions on the artificial chromosome. Combined with ChIP assays, this mintbody-LacO/LacI visualization method will enable analysis of developmental and context-dependent alterations of locus-specific histone modifications in specific cells and elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms.
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Thapliyal S, Babu K. C. elegans Locomotion: Finding Balance in Imbalance. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1112:185-196. [PMID: 30637699 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-3065-0_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The excitation-inhibition (E-I) imbalance in neural circuits represents a hallmark of several neuropsychiatric disorders. The tiny nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as an excellent system to study the molecular mechanisms underlying this imbalance in neuronal circuits. The C. elegans body wall muscles receive inputs from both excitatory cholinergic and inhibitory GABAergic motor neurons at neuromuscular junctions (NMJ), making it an excellent model for studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms required for maintaining E-I balance at the NMJ. The cholinergic neurons form dyadic synapses wherein they synapse onto ipsilateral body wall muscles allowing for muscle contraction as well as onto GABAergic motor neurons that in turn synapse on the contralateral body wall muscles causing muscle relaxation. An alternating wave of contraction and relaxation mediated by excitatory and inhibitory signals maintains locomotion in C. elegans. This locomotory behavior requires an intricate balance between the excitatory cholinergic signaling and the inhibitory GABAergic signaling mechanisms.Studies on the C. elegans NMJ have provided insights into several molecular mechanisms that could regulate this balance in neural circuits. This review provides a discussion on multiple genetic factors including neuropeptides and their receptors, cell adhesion molecules, and other molecular pathways that have been associated with maintaining E-I balance in C. elegans motor circuits. Further, it also discusses the implications of these studies that could help us in understanding the role of E-I balance in mammalian neural circuits and how changes in this balance could give rise to brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shruti Thapliyal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, Punjab, India.
| | - Kavita Babu
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, Punjab, India.
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Albritton SE, Ercan S. Caenorhabditis elegans Dosage Compensation: Insights into Condensin-Mediated Gene Regulation. Trends Genet 2017; 34:41-53. [PMID: 29037439 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2017.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Recent work demonstrating the role of chromosome organization in transcriptional regulation has sparked substantial interest in the molecular mechanisms that control chromosome structure. Condensin, an evolutionarily conserved multisubunit protein complex, is essential for chromosome condensation during cell division and functions in regulating gene expression during interphase. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a specialized condensin forms the core of the dosage compensation complex (DCC), which specifically binds to and represses transcription from the hermaphrodite X chromosomes. DCC serves as a clear paradigm for addressing how condensins target large chromosomal domains and how they function to regulate chromosome structure and transcription. Here, we discuss recent research on C. elegans DCC in the context of canonical condensin mechanisms as have been studied in various organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Elizabeth Albritton
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Sevinç Ercan
- Department of Biology, Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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Brejc K, Bian Q, Uzawa S, Wheeler BS, Anderson EC, King DS, Kranzusch PJ, Preston CG, Meyer BJ. Dynamic Control of X Chromosome Conformation and Repression by a Histone H4K20 Demethylase. Cell 2017; 171:85-102.e23. [PMID: 28867287 PMCID: PMC5678999 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.07.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Revised: 06/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Chromatin modification and higher-order chromosome structure play key roles in gene regulation, but their functional interplay in controlling gene expression is elusive. We have discovered the machinery and mechanism underlying the dynamic enrichment of histone modification H4K20me1 on hermaphrodite X chromosomes during C. elegans dosage compensation and demonstrated H4K20me1's pivotal role in regulating higher-order chromosome structure and X-chromosome-wide gene expression. The structure and the activity of the dosage compensation complex (DCC) subunit DPY-21 define a Jumonji demethylase subfamily that converts H4K20me2 to H4K20me1 in worms and mammals. Selective inactivation of demethylase activity eliminates H4K20me1 enrichment in somatic cells, elevates X-linked gene expression, reduces X chromosome compaction, and disrupts X chromosome conformation by diminishing the formation of topologically associating domains (TADs). Unexpectedly, DPY-21 also associates with autosomes of germ cells in a DCC-independent manner to enrich H4K20me1 and trigger chromosome compaction. Our findings demonstrate the direct link between chromatin modification and higher-order chromosome structure in long-range regulation of gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katjuša Brejc
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Qian Bian
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Satoru Uzawa
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Bayly S Wheeler
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Erika C Anderson
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - David S King
- HHMI Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3204, USA
| | - Philip J Kranzusch
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Christine G Preston
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
| | - Barbara J Meyer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA.
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