scholarly journals Evolutionary comparisons reveal a positional switch for spindle pole oscillations in Caenorhabditis embryos

2013 ◽  
Vol 201 (5) ◽  
pp. 653-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soizic Riche ◽  
Melissa Zouak ◽  
Françoise Argoul ◽  
Alain Arneodo ◽  
Jacques Pecreaux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Amplitude ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Caenorhabditis Briggsae ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Spindle Positioning ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Stage Embryo ◽  
Evolutionary Comparisons

During the first embryonic division in Caenorhabditis elegans, the mitotic spindle is pulled toward the posterior pole of the cell and undergoes vigorous transverse oscillations. We identified variations in spindle trajectories by analyzing the outwardly similar one-cell stage embryo of its close relative Caenorhabditis briggsae. Compared with C. elegans, C. briggsae embryos exhibit an anterior shifting of nuclei in prophase and reduced anaphase spindle oscillations. By combining physical perturbations and mutant analysis in both species, we show that differences can be explained by interspecies changes in the regulation of the cortical Gα–GPR–LIN-5 complex. However, we found that in both species (1) a conserved positional switch controls the onset of spindle oscillations, (2) GPR posterior localization may set this positional switch, and (3) the maximum amplitude of spindle oscillations is determined by the time spent in the oscillating phase. By investigating microevolution of a subcellular process, we identify new mechanisms that are instrumental to decipher spindle positioning.

scholarly journals The kinases PIG-1 and PAR-1 act in redundant pathways to regulate asymmetric division in the EMS blastomere of C. elegans

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgorzata J. Liro ◽  
Diane G. Morton ◽  
Lesilee S. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Wnt Pathway ◽  
Asymmetric Division ◽  
Spindle Orientation ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Spindle Positioning ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Stage Embryo ◽  
Cell Embryo ◽  
The One

AbstractThe PAR-1 kinase of C. elegans is localized to the posterior of the one-cell embryo and its mutations affect asymmetric spindle placement and partitioning of cytoplasmic components in the first cell cycle. However, unlike mutations in the posteriorly localized PAR-2 protein, par-1 mutations do not cause failure to restrict the anterior PAR polarity complex. Further, it has been difficult to examine the role of PAR-1 in subsequent divisions due to the early defects in par-1 mutant embryos. Here we show that the PIG-1 kinase acts redundantly with PAR-1 to restrict the anterior PAR-3 protein for polarity maintenance in the one-cell embryo. By using a weak allele of par-1 that exhibits enhanced lethality when combined with a pig-1 mutation we have further explored roles for these genes in subsequent divisions. We find that both PIG-1 and PAR-1 regulate spindle orientation in the EMS blastomere of the four-cell stage embryo to ensure that it undergoes an asymmetric division. In this cell, PIG-1 and PAR-1 act in parallel pathways for spindle positioning, PIG-1 in the MES-1/SRC-1 pathway and PAR-1 in the Wnt pathway.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamics for Simple Fluid Quantitatively Describes the Flow Dynamics in C. Elegans One-Cell Stage Embryo

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 562a-563a
Author(s):  
Ritsuya Niwayama ◽  
Kyosuke Shinohara ◽  
Akatsuki Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Flow Dynamics ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Simple Fluid ◽  
Stage Embryo

scholarly journals PAR-4/LKB1 regulates DNA replication during asynchronous division of the early C. elegans embryo

2014 ◽  
Vol 205 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Benkemoun ◽  
Catherine Descoteaux ◽  
Nicolas T. Chartier ◽  
Lionel Pintard ◽  
Jean-Claude Labbé
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Control Cell ◽  
Cycle Duration ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Stage Embryo ◽  
Regulation Of Cell Cycle

Regulation of cell cycle duration is critical during development, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. The two-cell stage Caenorhabditis elegans embryo divides asynchronously and thus provides a powerful context in which to study regulation of cell cycle timing during development. Using genetic analysis and high-resolution imaging, we found that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) replication is asymmetrically regulated in the two-cell stage embryo and that the PAR-4 and PAR-1 polarity proteins dampen DNA replication dynamics specifically in the posterior blastomere, independently of regulators previously implicated in the control of cell cycle timing. Our results demonstrate that accurate control of DNA replication is crucial during C. elegans early embryonic development and further provide a novel mechanism by which PAR proteins control cell cycle progression during asynchronous cell division.

scholarly journals Dissection of Cell Division Processes in the One Cell Stage Caenorhabditis elegans Embryo by Mutational Analysis

1999 ◽  
Vol 144 (5) ◽  
pp. 927-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Gönczy ◽  
Heinke Schnabel ◽  
Titus Kaletta ◽  
Ana Duran Amores ◽  
Tony Hyman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Spindle Positioning ◽  
Stage Embryo ◽  
Chromosome Iii ◽  
The One

To identify novel components required for cell division processes in complex eukaryotes, we have undertaken an extensive mutational analysis in the one cell stage Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. The large size and optical properties of this cell permit observation of cell division processes with great detail in live specimens by simple differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. We have screened an extensive collection of maternal-effect embryonic lethal mutations on chromosome III with time-lapse DIC video microscopy. Using this assay, we have identified 48 mutations in 34 loci which are required for specific cell division processes in the one cell stage embryo. We show that mutations fall into distinct phenotypic classes which correspond, among others, to the processes of pronuclear migration, rotation of centrosomes and associated pronuclei, spindle assembly, chromosome segregation, anaphase spindle positioning, and cytokinesis. We have further analyzed pronuclear migration mutants by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy using antibodies against tubulin and ZYG-9, a centrosomal marker. This analysis revealed that two pronuclear migration loci are required for generating normal microtubule arrays and four for centrosome separation. All 34 loci have been mapped by deficiencies to distinct regions of chromosome III, thus paving the way for their rapid molecular characterization. Our work contributes to establishing the one cell stage C. elegans embryo as a powerful metazoan model system for dissecting cell division processes.

LET-99 determines spindle position and is asymmetrically enriched in response to PAR polarity cues inC. elegansembryos

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (19) ◽  
pp. 4469-4481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng-Fu Bryan Tsou ◽  
Adam Hayashi ◽  
Leah R. DeBella ◽  
Garth McGrath ◽  
Lesilee S. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Asymmetric Cell Division ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Cellular Polarity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Spindle Positioning ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Nuclear Rotation ◽  
Spindle Position ◽  
Asymmetric Regulation

Asymmetric cell division depends on coordinating the position of the mitotic spindle with the axis of cellular polarity. We provide evidence that LET-99 is a link between polarity cues and the downstream machinery that determines spindle positioning in C. elegans embryos. In let-99 one-cell embryos, the nuclear-centrosome complex exhibits a hyperactive oscillation that is dynein dependent, instead of the normal anteriorly directed migration and rotation of the nuclear-centrosome complex. Furthermore, at anaphase in let-99 embryos the spindle poles do not show the characteristic asymmetric movements typical of wild type animals. LET-99 is a DEP domain protein that is asymmetrically enriched in a band that encircles P lineage cells. The LET-99 localization pattern is dependent on PAR polarity cues and correlates with nuclear rotation and anaphase spindle pole movements in wild-type embryos, as well as with changes in these movements in par mutant embryos. In particular, LET-99 is uniformly localized in one-cell par-3 embryos at the time of nuclear rotation. Rotation fails in spherical par-3 embryos in which the eggshell has been removed, but rotation occurs normally in spherical wild-type embryos. The latter results indicate that nuclear rotation in intact par-3 embryos is dictated by the geometry of the oblong egg and are consistent with the model that the LET-99 band is important for rotation in wild-type embryos. Together, the data indicate that LET-99 acts downstream of PAR-3 and PAR-2 to determine spindle positioning, potentially through the asymmetric regulation of forces on the spindle.

Comparison of a New Wild-Type Caenorhabditis Briggsae With Laboratory Strains of C. Briggsae and C. Elegans

Nematologica ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Golden ◽  
F. Kenneth Nelson ◽  
Donald L. Riddle ◽  
Andras Fodor
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Briggsae ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
C Elegans

Specification of anterior-posterior differences within the AB lineage in the C. elegans embryo: a polarising induction

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1559-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Hutter ◽  
R. Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Tissue Type ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Anterior Portion ◽  
Developmental Potential ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
The Third ◽  
Inductive Signal ◽  
Anterior Posterior ◽  
Lineage Analysis

In a C. elegans embryo the third cleavages of descendants of the anterior blastomere AB of the 2-cell stage create pairs of blastomeres that develop differently. By laser ablation experiments we show that the fates of all the posterior daughters of this division depend on an induction occurring three cleavages before these blastomeres are born. The time of induction precludes a direct effect on cell fate. Alternatively, we suggest that the induction creates a heritable cell polarity which is propagated through several divisions. We suggest a model to demonstrate how a signal could be propagated through several rounds of cell division. An important implication of our observations is that this early induction acts to specify blastomere identity, not tissue type. A detailed lineage analysis revealed that altering the inductive signal alters complex lineage patterns as a whole. The induction described here, together with two inductions described previously can be used to illustrate how the anterior portion of the C. elegans embryo can be successively subdivided into blastomeres with unique developmental potential.

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