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Xu Z, Angstmann CN, Wu Y, Stefen H, Parić E, Fath T, Curmi PM. Location of the axon initial segment assembly can be predicted from neuronal shape. iScience 2024; 27:109264. [PMID: 38450155 PMCID: PMC10915628 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109264] [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] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The axon initial segment (AIS) is located at the proximal axon demarcating the boundary between axonal and somatodendritic compartments. The AIS facilitates the generation of action potentials and maintenance of neuronal polarity. In this study, we show that the location of AIS assembly, as marked by Ankyrin G, corresponds to the nodal plane of the lowest-order harmonic of the Laplace-Beltrami operator solved over the neuronal shape. This correlation establishes a coupling between location of AIS assembly and neuronal cell morphology. We validate this correlation for neurons with atypical morphology and neurons containing multiple AnkG clusters on distinct neurites, where the nodal plane selects the appropriate axon showing enriched Tau. Based on our findings, we propose that Turing patterning systems are candidates for dynamically governing AIS location. Overall, this study highlights the importance of neuronal cell morphology in determining the precise localization of the AIS within the proximal axon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuang Xu
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Christopher N. Angstmann
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yuhuang Wu
- Infection Analytics Program, Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Holly Stefen
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Esmeralda Parić
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Thomas Fath
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Paul M.G. Curmi
- School of Physics, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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Nußbaum P, Ithurbide S, Walsh JC, Patro M, Delpech F, Rodriguez-Franco M, Curmi PMG, Duggin IG, Quax TEF, Albers SV. An Oscillating MinD Protein Determines the Cellular Positioning of the Motility Machinery in Archaea. Curr Biol 2020; 30:4956-4972.e4. [PMID: 33125862 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.09.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
MinD proteins are well studied in rod-shaped bacteria such as E. coli, where they display self-organized pole-to-pole oscillations that are important for correct positioning of the Z-ring at mid-cell for cell division. Archaea also encode proteins belonging to the MinD family, but their functions are unknown. MinD homologous proteins were found to be widespread in Euryarchaeota and form a sister group to the bacterial MinD family, distinct from the ParA and other related ATPase families. We aimed to identify the function of four archaeal MinD proteins in the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. Deletion of the minD genes did not cause cell division or size defects, and the Z-ring was still correctly positioned. Instead, one of the deletions (ΔminD4) reduced swimming motility and hampered the correct formation of motility machinery at the cell poles. In ΔminD4 cells, there is reduced formation of the motility structure and chemosensory arrays, which are essential for signal transduction. In bacteria, several members of the ParA family can position the motility structure and chemosensory arrays via binding to a landmark protein, and consequently these proteins do not oscillate along the cell axis. However, GFP-MinD4 displayed pole-to-pole oscillation and formed polar patches or foci in H. volcanii. The MinD4 membrane-targeting sequence (MTS), homologous to the bacterial MinD MTS, was essential for the oscillation. Surprisingly, mutant MinD4 proteins failed to form polar patches. Thus, MinD4 from H. volcanii combines traits of different bacterial ParA/MinD proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip Nußbaum
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Solenne Ithurbide
- The ithree institute, University of Technology, Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - James C Walsh
- EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science and ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Megha Patro
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Floriane Delpech
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marta Rodriguez-Franco
- Cell Biology, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestraße 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Paul M G Curmi
- School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Iain G Duggin
- The ithree institute, University of Technology, Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.
| | - Tessa E F Quax
- Archaeal Virus-Host Interactions, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Sonja-Verena Albers
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestrasse 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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Walsh JC, Angstmann CN, Bisson-Filho AW, Garner EC, Duggin IG, Curmi PMG. Division plane placement in pleomorphic archaea is dynamically coupled to cell shape. Mol Microbiol 2019; 112:785-799. [PMID: 31136034 PMCID: PMC6736733 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
One mechanism for achieving accurate placement of the cell division machinery is via Turing patterns, where nonlinear molecular interactions spontaneously produce spatiotemporal concentration gradients. The resulting patterns are dictated by cell shape. For example, the Min system of Escherichia coli shows spatiotemporal oscillation between cell poles, leaving a mid-cell zone for division. The universality of pattern-forming mechanisms in divisome placement is currently unclear. We examined the location of the division plane in two pleomorphic archaea, Haloferax volcanii and Haloarcula japonica, and showed that it correlates with the predictions of Turing patterning. Time-lapse analysis of H. volcanii shows that divisome locations after successive rounds of division are dynamically determined by daughter cell shape. For H. volcanii, we show that the location of DNA does not influence division plane location, ruling out nucleoid occlusion. Triangular cells provide a stringent test for Turing patterning, where there is a bifurcation in division plane orientation. For the two archaea examined, most triangular cells divide as predicted by a Turing mechanism; however, in some cases multiple division planes are observed resulting in cells dividing into three viable progeny. Our results suggest that the division site placement is consistent with a Turing patterning system in these archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C. Walsh
- School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
- The ithree institute, University of Technology, Sydney NSW 2007, Australia
| | | | | | - Ethan C. Garner
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Iain G. Duggin
- The ithree institute, University of Technology, Sydney NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Paul M. G. Curmi
- School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
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