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Shin N, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Henderson AL, Martínez-García M, Karthikraj R, Barrera V, Sui SH, Kannan K, Colaiácovo MP. Erratum: Altered gene expression linked to germline dysfunction following exposure to DEET. iScience 2024; 27:109529. [PMID: 38558942 PMCID: PMC10981082 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108699.].
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Shin N, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Henderson AL, Martínez-García M, Karthikraj R, Barrera V, Sui SH, Kannan K, Colaiácovo MP. Altered gene expression linked to germline dysfunction following exposure of Caenorhabditis elegans to DEET. iScience 2024; 27:108699. [PMID: 38299026 PMCID: PMC10829882 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) is a commonly used synthetic insect repellent. Although the neurological effects of DEET have been widely investigated, its effects on the germline are less understood. Here, we show that exposure of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is highly predictive of mammalian reprotoxicity, resulting in internal DEET levels within the range detected in human biological samples, causes activation of p53/CEP-1-dependent germ cell apoptosis, altered meiotic recombination, chromosome abnormalities, and missegregation. RNA-sequencing analysis links DEET-induced alterations in the expression of genes related to redox processes and chromatin structure to reduced mitochondrial function, impaired DNA double-strand break repair progression, and defects during early embryogenesis. We propose that Caenorhabditis elegans exposure to DEET interferes with gene expression, leading to increased oxidative stress and altered chromatin structure, resulting in germline effects that pose a risk to reproductive health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nara Shin
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Ayana L. Henderson
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Marina Martínez-García
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Rajendiran Karthikraj
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237, USA
| | - Victor Barrera
- Bioinformatics Core, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Shannan Ho Sui
- Bioinformatics Core, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Kurunthachalam Kannan
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12237, USA
| | - Mónica P. Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Bollen DP, Reddy KC, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Kim DH, Colaiácovo MP. Germline mitotic quiescence and cell death are induced in Caenorhabditis elegans by exposure to pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Genetics 2024; 226:iyad197. [PMID: 37956057 PMCID: PMC10763535 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The impact of exposure to microbial pathogens on animal reproductive capacity and germline physiology is not well understood. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a bacterivore that encounters pathogenic microbes in its natural environment. How pathogenic bacteria affect host reproductive capacity of C. elegans is not well understood. Here, we show that exposure of C. elegans hermaphrodites to the Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a marked reduction in brood size with concomitant reduction in the number of nuclei in the germline and gonad size. We define 2 processes that are induced that contribute to the decrease in the number of germ cell nuclei. First, we observe that infection with P. aeruginosa leads to the induction of germ cell apoptosis. Second, we observe that this exposure induces mitotic quiescence in the proliferative zone of the C. elegans gonad. Importantly, these processes appear to be reversible; when animals are removed from the presence of P. aeruginosa, germ cell apoptosis is abated, germ cell nuclei numbers increase, and brood sizes recover. The reversible germline dynamics during exposure to P. aeruginosa may represent an adaptive response to improve survival of progeny and may serve to facilitate resource allocation that promotes survival during pathogen infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Bollen
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Kirthi C Reddy
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | | | - Dennis H Kim
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Monica P Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Martinez-Garcia M, Naharro PR, Skinner MW, Baran KA, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Nadarajan S, Shin N, Silva-García CG, Saito TT, Beese-Sims S, Diaz-Pacheco BN, Berson E, Castañer AB, Pacheco S, Martinez-Perez E, Jordan PW, Colaiácovo MP. GRAS-1 is a novel regulator of early meiotic chromosome dynamics in C. elegans. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010666. [PMID: 36809245 PMCID: PMC9983901 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Martinez-Garcia
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Pedro Robles Naharro
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Marnie W Skinner
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kerstin A Baran
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Laura I Lascarez-Lagunas
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Saravanapriah Nadarajan
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nara Shin
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Carlos G Silva-García
- Department of Molecular Metabolism, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Takamune T Saito
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sara Beese-Sims
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Brianna N Diaz-Pacheco
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizaveta Berson
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Ana B Castañer
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Sarai Pacheco
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Philip W Jordan
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, John Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Monica P Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Martinez-Garcia M, Nadarajan S, Diaz-Pacheco BN, Berson E, Colaiácovo MP. Chromatin landscape, DSB levels, and cKU-70/80 contribute to patterning of meiotic DSB processing along chromosomes in C. elegans. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010627. [PMID: 36706157 PMCID: PMC9907818 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation is essential for achieving accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis. DSB repair timing and template choice are tightly regulated. However, little is known about how DSB distribution and the choice of repair pathway are regulated along the length of chromosomes, which has direct effects on the recombination landscape and chromosome remodeling at late prophase I. Here, we use the spatiotemporal resolution of meiosis in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline along with genetic approaches to study distribution of DSB processing and its regulation. High-resolution imaging of computationally straightened chromosomes immunostained for the RAD-51 recombinase marking DSB repair sites reveals that the pattern of RAD-51 foci throughout pachytene resembles crossover distribution in wild type. Specifically, RAD-51 foci occur primarily along the gene-poor distal thirds of the chromosomes in both early and late pachytene, and on both the X and the autosomes. However, this biased off-center distribution can be abrogated by the formation of excess DSBs. Reduced condensin function, but not an increase in total physical axial length, results in a homogeneous distribution of RAD-51 foci, whereas regulation of H3K9 methylation is required for the enrichment of RAD-51 at off-center positions. Finally, the DSB recognition heterodimer cKU-70/80, but not the non-homologous end-joining canonical ligase LIG-4, contributes to the enriched off-center distribution of RAD-51 foci. Taken together, our data supports a model by which regulation of the chromatin landscape, DSB levels, and DSB detection by cKU-70/80 collaborate to promote DSB processing by homologous recombination at off-center regions of the chromosomes in C. elegans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura I. Lascarez-Lagunas
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Marina Martinez-Garcia
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Saravanapriah Nadarajan
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Brianna N. Diaz-Pacheco
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizaveta Berson
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Mónica P. Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Herruzo E, Grishok A, San-Segundo PA, Colaiácovo MP. DOT-1.1-dependent H3K79 methylation promotes normal meiotic progression and meiotic checkpoint function in C. elegans. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1009171. [PMID: 33104701 PMCID: PMC7644094 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifiers are emerging as important regulators of the genome. However, how they regulate specific processes during meiosis is not well understood. Methylation of H3K79 by the histone methyltransferase Dot1 has been shown to be involved in the maintenance of genomic stability in various organisms. In S. cerevisiae, Dot1 modulates the meiotic checkpoint response triggered by synapsis and/or recombination defects by promoting Hop1-dependent Mek1 activation and Hop1 distribution along unsynapsed meiotic chromosomes, at least in part, by regulating Pch2 localization. However, how this protein regulates meiosis in metazoans is unknown. Here, we describe the effects of H3K79me depletion via analysis of dot-1.1 or zfp-1 mutants during meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans. We observed decreased fertility and increased embryonic lethality in dot-1.1 mutants suggesting meiotic dysfunction. We show that DOT-1.1 plays a role in the regulation of pairing, synapsis and recombination in the worm. Furthermore, we demonstrate that DOT-1.1 is an important regulator of mechanisms surveilling chromosome synapsis during meiosis. In sum, our results reveal that regulation of H3K79me plays an important role in coordinating events during meiosis in C. elegans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura I. Lascarez-Lagunas
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Esther Herruzo
- Instituto de Biología Funcional y Genómica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Alla Grishok
- Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Genome Science Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Pedro A. San-Segundo
- Instituto de Biología Funcional y Genómica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Mónica P. Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
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Cuenca L, Shin N, Lascarez-Lagunas LI, Martinez-Garcia M, Nadarajan S, Karthikraj R, Kannan K, Colaiácovo MP. Environmentally-relevant exposure to diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) alters regulation of double-strand break formation and crossover designation leading to germline dysfunction in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008529. [PMID: 31917788 PMCID: PMC6952080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciann Cuenca
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nara Shin
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Laura I. Lascarez-Lagunas
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Marina Martinez-Garcia
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Saravanapriah Nadarajan
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Rajendiran Karthikraj
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, United States of America
| | - Kurunthachalam Kannan
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Mónica P. Colaiácovo
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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