A Novel Role for α-Importins and Akirin in Establishment of Meiotic Sister Chromatid Cohesion in Caenorhabditis elegans

A critical role for the nuclear protein Akirin in larval development in Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata

Akirin is a nuclear protein that controls development in vertebrates and invertebrates. The function of Akirin has not been assessed in any Coleopteran insects. We found that high levels of akirin transcripts in Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata, a serious Coleopteran potato defoliator (hereafter Hvakirin), were present at prepupal, pupal and adult stages, especially in larval foregut and fat body. RNA interference (RNAi) targeting Hvakirin impaired larval development. The Hvakirin RNAi larvae arrested development at the final larval instar stage. They remained as stunted larvae, gradually blackened and finally died. Moreover, the remodelling of gut and fat body was inhibited in the Hvakirin depleted larvae. Two layers of cuticles, old and newly formed, were noted in the dsegfp-injected animals. In contrast, only a layer of cuticle was found in the dsakirin-injected beetles, indicating the arrest of larval development. Furthermore, the expression of three transforming growth factor-β cascade genes (Hvsmox, Hvmyo and Hvbabo), a 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) receptor gene (HvEcR) and six 20E response genes (HvHR3, HvHR4, HvE75, HvBrC, HvE93 and Hvftz-f1) was significantly repressed, consistent with decreased 20E signalling. Conversely, the transcription of a juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis gene (Hvjhamt), a JH receptor gene (HvMet) and two JH response genes (HvKr-h1 and HvHairy) was greatly enhanced. Our findings suggest a critical role of Akirin in larval development in H. vigintioctopunctata.

AKIR-1 regulates proteasome subcellular function in Caenorhabditis elegans

Polyubiquitinated proteins are primarily degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Proteasomes are present both in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Here, we investigated mechanisms coordinating proteasome subcellular localization and activity in a multicellular organism. We identified the nuclear protein-encoding gene akir-1 as a proteasome regulator in a genome-wide Caenorhabditis elegans RNAi screen. We demonstrate that depletion of akir-1 causes nuclear accumulation of endogenous polyubiquitinated proteins in intestinal cells, concomitant with slower in vivo proteasomal degradation in this subcellular compartment. Remarkably, akir-1 is essential for nuclear localization of proteasomes both in oocytes and intestinal cells but affects differentially the subcellular distribution of polyubiquitinated proteins. We further reveal that importin ima-3 genetically interacts with akir-1 and influences nuclear localization of a polyubiquitin-binding reporter. Our study shows that the conserved AKIR-1 is an important regulator of the subcellular function of proteasomes in a multicellular organism, suggesting a role for AKIR-1 in proteostasis maintenance.

GRAS-1 is a novel regulator of early meiotic chromosome dynamics in C. elegans

Chromosome movements and licensing of synapsis must be tightly regulated during early meiosis to ensure accurate chromosome segregation and avoid aneuploidy, although how these steps are coordinated is not fully understood. Here we show that GRAS-1, the worm homolog of mammalian GRASP/Tamalin and CYTIP, coordinates early meiotic events with cytoskeletal forces outside the nucleus. GRAS-1 localizes close to the nuclear envelope (NE) in early prophase I and interacts with NE and cytoskeleton proteins. Delayed homologous chromosome pairing, synaptonemal complex (SC) assembly, and DNA double-strand break repair progression are partially rescued by the expression of human CYTIP in gras-1 mutants, supporting functional conservation. However, Tamalin, Cytip double knockout mice do not exhibit obvious fertility or meiotic defects, suggesting evolutionary differences between mammals. gras-1 mutants show accelerated chromosome movement during early prophase I, implicating GRAS-1 in regulating chromosome dynamics. GRAS-1-mediated regulation of chromosome movement is DHC-1-dependent, placing it acting within the LINC-controlled pathway, and depends on GRAS-1 phosphorylation at a C-terminal S/T cluster. We propose that GRAS-1 coordinates the early steps of homology search and licensing of SC assembly by regulating the pace of chromosome movement in early prophase I.

Akirin proteins in development and disease: critical roles and mechanisms of action

The Akirin genes, which encode small, nuclear proteins, were first characterized in 2008 in Drosophila and rodents. Early studies demonstrated important roles in immune responses and tumorigenesis, which subsequent work found to be highly conserved. More recently, a multiplicity of Akirin functions, and the associated molecular mechanisms involved, have been uncovered. Here, we comprehensively review what is known about invertebrate Akirin and its two vertebrate homologues Akirin1 and Akirin2, highlighting their role in regulating gene expression changes across a number of biological systems. We detail essential roles for Akirin family proteins in the development of the brain, limb, and muscle, in meiosis, and in tumorigenesis, emphasizing associated signaling pathways. We describe data supporting the hypothesis that Akirins act as a "bridge" between a variety of transcription factors and major chromatin remodeling complexes, and discuss several important questions remaining to be addressed. In little more than a decade, Akirin proteins have gone from being completely unknown to being increasingly recognized as evolutionarily conserved mediators of gene expression programs essential for the formation and function of animals.

Alternative Synaptonemal Complex Structures: Too Much of a Good Thing?

The synaptonemal complex (SC), a highly conserved structure built between homologous meiotic chromosomes, is required for crossover formation and ensuring proper chromosome segregation. In many organisms, SC components can also form alternative structures, including repeating SC structures that are known as polycomplexes (PCs), and extensively modified SC structures that are maintained late in meiosis. PCs display differences in their ability to localize with lateral element proteins, recombination machinery, and DNA. They can be created by defects in post-translational modification, suggesting that these modifications have roles in preventing alternate SC structures. These SC-like structures provide insight into the rules for building and maintaining the SC by offering an 'in vivo laboratory' for models of SC assembly, structure, and disassembly. Here, we discuss what these structures can tell us about the rules for building the SC and the roles of the SC in meiotic processes.

Environmentally-relevant exposure to diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) alters regulation of double-strand break formation and crossover designation leading to germline dysfunction in Caenorhabditis elegans

Exposure to diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), the most abundant plasticizer used in the production of polyvinyl-containing plastics, has been associated to adverse reproductive health outcomes in both males and females. While the effects of DEHP on reproductive health have been widely investigated, the molecular mechanisms by which exposure to environmentally-relevant levels of DEHP and its metabolites impact the female germline in the context of a multicellular organism have remained elusive. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans germline as a model for studying reprotoxicity, we show that exposure to environmentally-relevant levels of DEHP and its metabolites results in increased meiotic double-strand breaks (DSBs), altered DSB repair progression, activation of p53/CEP-1-dependent germ cell apoptosis, defects in chromosome remodeling at late prophase I, aberrant chromosome morphology in diakinesis oocytes, increased chromosome non-disjunction and defects during early embryogenesis. Exposure to DEHP results in a subset of nuclei held in a DSB permissive state in mid to late pachytene that exhibit defects in crossover (CO) designation/formation. In addition, these nuclei show reduced Polo-like kinase-1/2 (PLK-1/2)-dependent phosphorylation of SYP-4, a synaptonemal complex (SC) protein. Moreover, DEHP exposure leads to germline-specific change in the expression of prmt-5, which encodes for an arginine methyltransferase, and both increased SC length and altered CO designation levels on the X chromosome. Taken together, our data suggest a model by which impairment of a PLK-1/2-dependent negative feedback loop set in place to shut down meiotic DSBs, together with alterations in chromosome structure, contribute to the formation of an excess number of DSBs and altered CO designation levels, leading to genomic instability.

Faithful chromosome segregation during meiosis, the specialized cell division program that produces haploid gametes (i.e. eggs and sperm) from a diploid organism, is key for successful sexual reproduction. Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a commonly used plasticizer found in personal care and household products, has emerged as an endocrine disruptor that exerts reprotoxicity in mammals. In this study, we provide mechanistic insight into the modes of action by which environmentally-relevant levels of DEHP and its metabolites impair female meiosis in the C. elegans germline. Exposure to DEHP leads to defects in late prophase I chromosome remodeling, altered chromosome morphology in oocytes at diakinesis, errors in chromosome segregation, and impaired embryogenesis. Underlying these defects are higher levels of DSBs, altered DSB repair, defects in crossover (CO) designation/formation, germline-specific change in prmt-5 gene expression and altered chromosome structure. We propose that DEHP exposure induces an excess number of DSBs by interfering with mechanisms set in place to turn off DSBs once CO designation is accomplished and by altering chromosome structure resulting in increased chromatin accessibility to the DSB machinery.

Akirin Is Required for Muscle Function and Acts Through the TGF-β Sma/Mab Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans Development

Akirin, a conserved metazoan protein, functions in muscle development in flies and mice. However, this was only tested in the rodent and fly model systems. Akirin was shown to act with chromatin remodeling complexes in transcription and was established as a downstream target of the NFκB pathway. Here we show a role for Caenorhabditis elegans Akirin/AKIR-1 in the muscle and body length regulation through a different pathway. Akirin localizes to somatic tissues throughout the body of C. elegans, including muscle nuclei. In agreement with its role in other model systems, Akirin loss of function mutants exhibit defects in muscle development in the embryo, as well as defects in movement and maintenance of muscle integrity in the C. elegans adult. We also have determined that Akirin acts downstream of the TGF-β Sma/Mab signaling pathway in controlling body size. Moreover, we found that the loss of Akirin resulted in an increase in autophagy markers, similar to mutants in the TGF-β Sma/Mab signaling pathway. In contrast to what is known in rodent and fly models, C. elegans Akirin does not act with the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, and is instead involved with the NuRD chromatin remodeling complex in both movement and regulation of body size. Our studies define a novel developmental role (body size) and a new pathway (TGF-β Sma/Mab) for Akirin function, and confirmed its evolutionarily conserved function in muscle development in a new organism.

Tissue-Specific Split sfGFP System for Streamlined Expression of GFP Tagged Proteins in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline

Identifying protein localization is a useful tool in analyzing protein function. Using GFP-fusion tags, researchers can study the function of endogenous proteins in living tissue. However, these tags are considerably large, making them difficult to insert, and they can potentially affect the normal function of these proteins. To improve on these drawbacks, we have adopted the split sfGFP system for studying the localization of proteins in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline. This system divides the “super folder” GFP into 2 fragments, allowing researchers to use CRISPR/Cas9 to tag proteins more easily with the smaller subunit, while constitutively expressing the larger subunit from another locus. These two parts are able to stably interact, producing a functional GFP when both fragments are in the same cellular compartment. Our data demonstrate that the split sfGFP system can be adapted for use in C. elegans to tag endogenous proteins with relative ease. Strains containing the tags are homozygous viable and fertile. These small subunit tags produce fluorescent signals that matched the localization patterns of the wild-type protein in the gonad. Thus, our study shows that this approach could be used for tissue-specific GFP expression from an endogenous locus.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Sina regulates the assembly and disassembly of the synaptonemal complex in Drosophila females

During early meiotic prophase, homologous chromosomes are connected along their entire lengths by a proteinaceous tripartite structure known as the synaptonemal complex (SC). Although the components that comprise the SC are predominantly studied in this canonical ribbon-like structure, they can also polymerize into repeated structures known as polycomplexes. We find that in Drosophila oocytes, the ability of SC components to assemble into canonical tripartite SC requires the E3 ubiquitin ligase Seven in absentia (Sina). In sina mutant oocytes, SC components assemble into large rod-like polycomplexes instead of proper SC. Thus, the wild-type Sina protein inhibits the polymerization of SC components, including those of the lateral element, into polycomplexes. These polycomplexes persist into meiotic stages when canonical SC has been disassembled, indicating that Sina also plays a role in controlling SC disassembly. Polycomplexes induced by loss-of-function sina mutations associate with centromeres, sites of double-strand breaks, and cohesins. Perhaps as a consequence of these associations, centromere clustering is defective and crossing over is reduced. These results suggest that while features of the polycomplexes can be recognized as SC by other components of the meiotic nucleus, polycomplexes nonetheless fail to execute core functions of canonical SC.