scholarly journals The Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-87 protein is essential for maintenance, but not assembly, of bodywall muscle.

1994 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Goetinck ◽  
R H Waterston
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Gene Product ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Structural Component ◽  
Muscle Proteins ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Muscle Structure

Mutations in the unc-87 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans cause disorganization of the myofilament lattice in adult bodywall muscle. In order to assess the organization of specific bodywall muscle components in the absence of the unc-87 gene product, we examined the bodywall muscles of mutant animals using phalloidin and monoclonal antibodies to various muscle proteins. These studies indicated that the bodywall muscle of unc-87 embryos is initially almost wild type in its organization, but at later stages, the muscle becomes severely disorganized. To address the possibility that this disorganization is due to deterioration of the muscle as a result of contraction, we introduced into the unc-87 mutant background a mutation that decreases myosin heavy chain activity but does not substantially affect muscle structure. The improved muscle structure and motility of the double mutants are consistent with the hypothesis that at least part of the disorganization phenotype of unc-87 mutants is a consequence of the wild-type levels of force generated during muscle contraction. These results imply that the role of the unc-87 gene product is not in specifying organization but rather in serving as a structural component maintaining lattice integrity during and after contraction.

Touch insensitive foraging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a constrained structure

Nematology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-554
Author(s):  
Jinu Eo ◽  
Kazunori Otobe
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Agar Gel ◽  
Touch Sensor ◽  
Foraging Pattern

Abstract The objective of this study was to clarify the role of touch sensors in the foraging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a constrained structure. The strains tested included an array of mechanosensory mutants insensitive to touch in the body, tail or nose. The mutants and wild type nematodes repeated forward and backward movement in a micro-moulded substrate as on the surface of agar gel. Differences in the foraging pattern were not obvious among mutant groups having different touch sensor deficit in the substrate, and all strains of nematode successfully moved out of the T-shaped structure after searching the configuration of their environment. The results suggest that the touch sensor is a weak contributor to the performance of the worms when foraging, and the behaviour is governed by intrinsic spontaneous patterns in the absence of any stimuli in natural habitat.

scholarly journals The inositol 5-phosphatase INPP5K participates in the fine control of ER organization

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (10) ◽  
pp. 3577-3592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Dong ◽  
Ting Zhu ◽  
Lorena Benedetti ◽  
Swetha Gowrishankar ◽  
Huichao Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Mutant Phenotype ◽  
Network Organization ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Fine Control

INPP5K (SKIP) is an inositol 5-phosphatase that localizes in part to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We show that recruitment of INPP5K to the ER is mediated by ARL6IP1, which shares features of ER-shaping proteins. Like ARL6IP1, INPP5K is preferentially localized in ER tubules and enriched, relative to other ER resident proteins (Sec61β, VAPB, and Sac1), in newly formed tubules that grow along microtubule tracks. Depletion of either INPP5K or ARL6IP1 results in the increase of ER sheets. In a convergent but independent study, a screen for mutations affecting the distribution of the ER network in dendrites of the PVD neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans led to the isolation of mutants in CIL-1, which encodes the INPP5K worm orthologue. The mutant phenotype was rescued by expression of wild type, but not of catalytically inactive CIL-1. Our results reveal an unexpected role of an ER localized polyphosphoinositide phosphatase in the fine control of ER network organization.

scholarly journals Aurora-A kinase is required for centrosome maturation in Caenorhabditis elegans

2001 ◽  
Vol 155 (7) ◽  
pp. 1109-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Hannak ◽  
Matthew Kirkham ◽  
Anthony A. Hyman ◽  
Karen Oegema
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Fluorescence Intensity ◽  
Maturation Process ◽  
Aurora A Kinase ◽  
Aurora A ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Nuclear Envelope Breakdown ◽  
Pericentriolar Material

Centrosomes mature as cells enter mitosis, accumulating γ-tubulin and other pericentriolar material (PCM) components. This occurs concomitant with an increase in the number of centrosomally organized microtubules (MTs). Here, we use RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) to examine the role of the aurora-A kinase, AIR-1, during centrosome maturation in Caenorhabditis elegans. In air-1(RNAi) embryos, centrosomes separate normally, an event that occurs before maturation in C. elegans. After nuclear envelope breakdown, the separated centrosomes collapse together, and spindle assembly fails. In mitotic air-1(RNAi) embryos, centrosomal α-tubulin fluorescence intensity accumulates to only 40% of wild-type levels, suggesting a defect in the maturation process. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that AIR-1 is required for the increase in centrosomal γ-tubulin and two other PCM components, ZYG-9 and CeGrip, as embryos enter mitosis. Furthermore, the AIR-1–dependent increase in centrosomal γ-tubulin does not require MTs. These results suggest that aurora-A kinases are required to execute a MT-independent pathway for the recruitment of PCM during centrosome maturation.

scholarly journals The PAF1 complex cell-autonomously promotes oogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukihiko Kubota ◽  
Natsumi Ota ◽  
Hisashi Takatsuka ◽  
Takuma Unno ◽  
Shuichi Onami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Oocyte Maturation ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Precise Role

The RNA polymerase II-associated factor 1 complex (PAF1C) is a protein complex that consists of LEO1, RTF1, PAF1, CDC73, and CTR9, and has been shown to be involved in Pol II-mediated transcriptional and chromatin regulation. Although it has been shown to regulate a variety of biological processes, the precise role of the PAF1C during germ line development has not been clarified. In this study, we found that reduction in the function of the PAF1C components, LEO-1, RTFO-1, PAFO-1, CDC-73, and CTR-9, in Caenorhabditis elegans affects cell volume expansion of oocytes. Defects in oogenesis were also confirmed using an oocyte maturation marker, OMA-1::GFP. While four to five OMA-1::GFP-positive oocytes were observed in wild-type animals, their numbers were significantly decreased in pafo-1 mutantand leo-1(RNAi), cdc-73(RNAi), and pafo-1(RNAi) animals. Expression of a functional PAFO-1::mCherry transgene in the germline significantly rescued the oogenesis-defective phenotype of the pafo-1 mutants, suggesting that expression of the PAF1C in germ cells is required for oogenesis. Notably, overexpression of OMA-1::GFP partially rescued the oogenesis defect in the pafo-1 mutants. Based on our findings, we propose that the PAF1C promotes oogenesis in a cell-autonomous manner by positively regulating the expression of genes involved in oocyte maturation.

Divergence in species and regulatory role of β-myosin heavy chain proximal promoter muscle-CAT elements

2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (6) ◽  
pp. C1761-C1775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Tsika ◽  
John McCarthy ◽  
Natalia Karasseva ◽  
Yangsi Ou ◽  
Gretchen L. Tsika
Keyword(s):  
Myosin Heavy Chain ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Transgene Expression ◽  
Weight Bearing ◽  
Nuclear Extract ◽  
Proximal Promoter ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mobility Shift

We examined the functional role of distinct muscle-CAT (MCAT) elements during non-weight-bearing (NWB) regulation of a wild-type 293-base pair β-myosin heavy chain (βMyHC) transgene. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) revealed decreased NTEF-1, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and Max binding at the human distal MCAT element when using NWB soleus vs. control soleus nuclear extract. Compared with the wild-type transgene, expression assays revealed that distal MCAT element mutation decreased basal transgene expression, which was decreased further in response to NWB. EMSA analysis of the human proximal MCAT (pMCAT) element revealed low levels of NTEF-1 binding that did not differ between control and NWB extract, whereas the rat pMCAT element displayed robust NTEF-1 binding that decreased when using NWB soleus extracts. Differences in binding between human and rat pMCAT elements were consistent whether using rat or mouse nuclear extract or in vitro synthesized human TEF-1 proteins. Our results provide the first evidence that 1) different binding properties and likely regulatory functions are served by the human and rat pMCAT elements, and 2) previously unrecognized βMyHC proximal promoter elements contribute to NWB regulation.

Mutations in the unc-54 myosin heavy chain gene of caenorhabditis elegans that alter contractility but not muscle structure

Cell ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald G. Moerman ◽  
Santiago Plurad ◽  
Robert H. Waterston ◽  
David L. Baillie
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Myosin Heavy Chain ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Chain Gene ◽  
Heavy Chain Gene ◽  
Myosin Heavy Chain Gene ◽  
Muscle Structure

scholarly journals Dynein Intermediate Chain Mediated Dynein–Dynactin Interaction Is Required for Interphase Microtubule Organization and Centrosome Replication and Separation inDictyostelium

1999 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. 1261-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo Ma ◽  
Leda Triviños-Lagos ◽  
Ralph Gräf ◽  
Rex L. Chisholm
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Cytoplasmic Dynein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Dynein Intermediate Chain ◽  
Organizing Center ◽  
Intermediate Chain

Cytoplasmic dynein intermediate chain (IC) mediates dynein–dynactin interaction in vitro (Karki, S., and E.L. Holzbaur. 1995. J. Biol. Chem. 270:28806–28811; Vaughan, K.T., and R.B. Vallee. 1995. J. Cell Biol. 131:1507–1516). To investigate the physiological role of IC and dynein–dynactin interaction, we expressed IC truncations in wild-type Dictyostelium cells. ICΔC associated with dynactin but not with dynein heavy chain, whereas ICΔN truncations bound to dynein but bound dynactin poorly. Both mutations resulted in abnormal localization to the Golgi complex, confirming dynein function was disrupted. Striking disorganization of interphase microtubule (MT) networks was observed when mutant expression was induced. In a majority of cells, the MT networks collapsed into large bundles. We also observed cells with multiple cytoplasmic asters and MTs lacking an organizing center. These cells accumulated abnormal DNA content, suggesting a defect in mitosis. Striking defects in centrosome morphology were also observed in IC mutants, mostly larger than normal centrosomes. Ultrastructural analysis of centrosomes in IC mutants showed interphase accumulation of large centrosomes typical of prophase as well as unusually paired centrosomes, suggesting defects in centrosome replication and separation. These results suggest that dynactin-mediated cytoplasmic dynein function is required for the proper organization of interphase MT network as well as centrosome replication and separation in Dictyostelium.

scholarly journals Sγ3 switch sequences function in place of endogenous Sγ1 to mediate antibody class switching

2008 ◽  
Vol 205 (7) ◽  
pp. 1567-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali A. Zarrin ◽  
Peter H. Goff ◽  
Kate Senger ◽  
Frederick W. Alt
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Recombination Event ◽  
Class Switch Recombination ◽  
Constant Region ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Antibody Class

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class switch recombination (CSR) replaces the initially expressed IgH Cμ exons with a set of downstream IgH constant region (CH) exons. Individual sets of CH exons are flanked upstream by long (1–10-kb) repetitive switch (S) regions, with CSR involving a deletional recombination event between the donor Sμ region and a downstream S region. Targeting CSR to specific S regions might be mediated by S region–specific factors. To test the role of endogenous S region sequences in targeting specific CSR events, we generated mutant B cells in which the endogenous 10-kb Sγ1 region was replaced with wild-type (WT) or synthetic 2-kb Sγ3 sequences or a synthetic 2-kb Sγ1 sequence. We found that both the inserted endogenous and synthetic Sγ3 sequences functioned similarly to a size-matched synthetic Sγ1 sequence to mediate substantial CSR to IgG1 in mutant B cells activated under conditions that stimulate IgG1 switching in WT B cells. We conclude that Sγ3 can function similarly to Sγ1 in mediating endogenous CSR to IgG1. The approach that we have developed will facilitate assays for IgH isotype–specific functions of other endogenous S regions.

scholarly journals Novel Monoclonal Antibodies Against Mouse C1q: Characterisation and Development of a Quantitative ELISA for Mouse C1q

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. J. Byrne ◽  
Megan Torvell ◽  
Nikoleta Daskoulidou ◽  
Dina Fathalla ◽  
Eirini Kokkali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Biological Fluids ◽  
Rodent Models ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Disease Biomarker ◽  
Tissue Extracts ◽  
Deficient Mice ◽  
Synaptic Pruning ◽  
Detection And Quantification

AbstractRecent studies have identified roles for complement in synaptic pruning, both physiological during development and pathological in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These reports suggest that C1q initiates complement activation on synapses and C3 fragments then tag them for removal by microglia. There is an urgent need to characterise these processes in rodent AD models; this requires the development of reagents and methods for detection and quantification of rodent C1q in fluids and pathological tissues. These will enable better evaluation of the role of C1q in disease and its value as disease biomarker. We describe the generation in C1q-deficient mice of novel monoclonal antibodies against mouse and rat C1q that enabled development of a sensitive, specific, and quantitative ELISA for mouse and rat C1q capable of measuring C1q in biological fluids and tissue extracts. Serum C1q levels were measured in wild-type (WT), C1q knockout (KO), C3 KO, C7 KO, Crry KO, and 3xTg and APPNL-G-F AD model mice through ageing. C1q levels significantly decreased in WT, APPNL-G-F, and C7 KO mice with ageing. C1q levels were reduced in APPNL-G-F compared to WT at all ages and in 3xTg at 12 months; C3 KO and C7 KO, but not Crry KO mice, also demonstrated significantly lower C1q levels compared to matched WT. In brain homogenates, C1q levels increased with age in both WT and APPNL-G-F mice. This robust and adaptable assay for quantification of mouse and rat C1q provides a vital tool for investigating the expression of C1q in rodent models of AD and other complement-driven pathologies.

scholarly journals Analysis of the role of tra-1 in germline sex determination in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Schedl ◽  
P L Graham ◽  
M K Barton ◽  
J Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Allelic Series ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Somatic Gonad

Abstract In wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans there are two sexes, self-fertilizing hermaphrodites (XX) and males (XO). To investigate the role of tra-1 in controlling sex determination in germline tissue, we have examined germline phenotypes of nine tra-1 loss-of-function (lf) mutations. Previous work has shown that tra-1 is needed for female somatic development as the nongonadal soma of tra-1(lf) XX mutants is masculinized. In contrast, the germline of tra-1(lf) XX and XO animals is often feminized; a brief period of spermatogenesis is followed by oogenesis, rather than the continuous spermatogenesis observed in wild-type males. In addition, abnormal gonadal (germ line and somatic gonad) phenotypes are observed which may reflect defects in development or function of somatic gonad regulatory cells. Analysis of germline feminization and abnormal gonadal phenotypes of the various mutations alone or in trans to a deficiency reveals that they cannot be ordered in an allelic series and they do not converge to a single phenotypic endpoint. These observations lead to the suggestion that tra-1 may produce multiple products and/or is autoregulated. One interpretation of the germline feminization is that tra-1(+) is necessary for continued specification of spermatogenesis in males. We also report the isolation and characterization of tra-1 gain-of-function (gf) mutations with novel phenotypes. These include temperature sensitive, recessive germline feminization, and partial somatic loss-of-function phenotypes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document