scholarly journals Emerging Roles for Chromo Domain Proteins in Genome Organization and Cell Fate in C. elegans

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhimanyu DasGupta ◽  
Tammy L. Lee ◽  
Chengyin Li ◽  
Arneet L. Saltzman
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Genome Organization ◽  
Chromo Domain ◽  
C Elegans

Centrosome Aurora A gradient ensures single polarity axis in C. elegans embryos

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1243-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukriti Kapoor ◽  
Sachin Kotak
Keyword(s):  
Symmetry Breaking ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Cell Cortex ◽  
Axis Formation ◽  
Aurora A Kinase ◽  
Aurora A ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Cell Embryo ◽  
Polarity Establishment

Cellular asymmetries are vital for generating cell fate diversity during development and in stem cells. In the newly fertilized Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, centrosomes are responsible for polarity establishment, i.e. anterior–posterior body axis formation. The signal for polarity originates from the centrosomes and is transmitted to the cell cortex, where it disassembles the actomyosin network. This event leads to symmetry breaking and the establishment of distinct domains of evolutionarily conserved PAR proteins. However, the identity of an essential component that localizes to the centrosomes and promotes symmetry breaking was unknown. Recent work has uncovered that the loss of Aurora A kinase (AIR-1 in C. elegans and hereafter referred to as Aurora A) in the one-cell embryo disrupts stereotypical actomyosin-based cortical flows that occur at the time of polarity establishment. This misregulation of actomyosin flow dynamics results in the occurrence of two polarity axes. Notably, the role of Aurora A in ensuring a single polarity axis is independent of its well-established function in centrosome maturation. The mechanism by which Aurora A directs symmetry breaking is likely through direct regulation of Rho-dependent contractility. In this mini-review, we will discuss the unconventional role of Aurora A kinase in polarity establishment in C. elegans embryos and propose a refined model of centrosome-dependent symmetry breaking.

scholarly journals CFP-1 interacts with HDAC1/2 complexes inC. elegansdevelopment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Pokhrel ◽  
Yannic Chen ◽  
Jonathan Joseph Biro
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Stem Cell Differentiation ◽  
Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Cell Fate Specification ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Epigenetic Regulator ◽  
Inducible Genes

AbstractCFP-1 (CXXC finger binding protein 1) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that binds to non-methylated CpG-rich promoters in humans andC. elegans. This conserved epigenetic regulator is a part of the COMPASS complex that contains the H3K4me3 methyltransferase SET1 in mammals and SET-2 inC. elegans. Previous studies have indicated the importance ofcfp-1in embryonic stem cell differentiation and cell fate specification. However, neither the function nor the mechanism of action ofcfp-1is well understood at the organismal level. To further investigate the function of CFP-1, we have characterisedC. elegansCOMPASS mutantscfp-1(tm6369)andset-2(bn129). We found that bothcfp-1andset-2play an important role in the regulation of fertility and development of the organism. Furthermore, we found that bothcfp-1andset-2are required for H3K4 trimethylation and play a repressive role in the expression of heat shock and salt-inducible genes. Interestingly, we found thatcfp-1but notset-2genetically interacts with Histone Deacetylase (HDAC1/2) complexes to regulate fertility, suggesting a function of CFP-1 outside of the COMPASS complex. Additionally we found thatcfp-1andset-2acts on a separate pathways to regulate fertility and development ofC. elegans. Our results suggest that CFP-1 genetically interacts with HDAC1/2 complexes to regulate fertility, independent of its function within COMPASS complex. We propose that CFP-1 could cooperate with COMPASS complex and/or HDAC1/2 in a context dependent manner.

scholarly journals Genetic control of programmed cell death in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite germline

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 1011-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.L. Gumienny ◽  
E. Lambie ◽  
E. Hartwieg ◽  
H.R. Horvitz ◽  
M.O. Hengartner
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Mapk Pathway ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Pathway Activation

Development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is highly reproducible and the fate of every somatic cell has been reported. We describe here a previously uncharacterized cell fate in C. elegans: we show that germ cells, which in hermaphrodites can differentiate into sperm and oocytes, also undergo apoptotic cell death. In adult hermaphrodites, over 300 germ cells die, using the same apoptotic execution machinery (ced-3, ced-4 and ced-9) as the previously described 131 somatic cell deaths. However, this machinery is activated by a distinct pathway, as loss of egl-1 function, which inhibits somatic cell death, does not affect germ cell apoptosis. Germ cell death requires ras/MAPK pathway activation and is used to maintain germline homeostasis. We suggest that apoptosis eliminates excess germ cells that acted as nurse cells to provide cytoplasmic components to maturing oocytes.

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.

The mab-21 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans encodes a novel protein required for choice of alternate cell fates

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 3615-3626 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. Chow ◽  
D.H. Hall ◽  
S.W. Emmons
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Hox Genes ◽  
Cell Signalling ◽  
Gene Mutations ◽  
Genetic Modifiers ◽  
Tail Region ◽  
Cell Fates ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Novel Protein

The gene mab-21, which encodes a novel protein of 386 amino acids, is required for the choice of alternate cell fates by several cells in the C. elegans male tail. Three cells descended from the ray 6 precursor cell adopt fates of anterior homologs, and a fourth, lineally unrelated hypodermal cell is transformed into a neuroblast. The affected cells lie together in the lateral tail epidermis, suggesting that mab-21 acts as part of a short-range pattern-formation mechanism. Each of the changes in cell fate brought about by mab-21 mutants can be interpreted as a posterior-to-anterior homeotic transformation. mab-21 mutant males and hermaphrodites have additional pleiotropic phenotypes affecting movement, body shape and fecundity, indicating that mab-21 has functions outside the tail region of males. We show that the three known alleles of mab-21 are hypomorphs of a new gene. Mosaic analysis revealed that mab-21 acts cell autonomously to specify the properties of the sensory ray, but non-autonomously in the hypodermal versus neuroblast cell fate choice. Presence of cell signalling in the choice of the neuroblast fate was confirmed by cell ablation experiments. Mutations in mab-21 were shown previously to be genetic modifiers of the effects of HOM-C/Hox gene mutations on ray identity specification. The results presented here support the conclusion that mab-21 acts as part of a mechanism required for correct cell fate choice, possibly involving the function of HOM-C/Hox genes in several body regions.

A predicted membrane protein, TRA-2A, directs hermaphrodite development in Caenorhabditis elegans

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 2995-3004 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.E. Kuwabara ◽  
J. Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Heat Shock Promoter ◽  
Somatic Development ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Cellular Domain ◽  
Carboxy Terminal ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

The nematode C. elegans naturally develops as either an XO male or XX hermaphrodite. The sex-determining gene, tra-2, promotes hermaphrodite development in XX animals. This gene encodes a predicted membrane protein, named TRA-2A, which has been proposed to provide the primary feminising activity of the tra-2 locus. Here, we show that transgenic TRA-2A driven from a heat shock promoter can fully feminise the somatic tissues of XX tra-2 loss-of-function mutants, which would otherwise develop as male. TRA-2A is thus likely to provide a component of the tra-2 locus that is both necessary and sufficient to promote female somatic development. Transgenic TRA-2A driven by the heat shock promoter can also transform XO animals from male to self-fertile hermaphrodite. This result establishes the role of tra-2 as a developmental switch that controls somatic sexual cell fate. We show that a carboxy-terminal region of TRA-2A, predicted to be intra-cellular, can partially feminise XX tra-2 loss-of-function mutants and XO tra-2(+) males. We suggest that this intra-cellular domain of TRA-2A promotes hermaphrodite development by negatively regulating the FEM proteins.

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