The Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of human PHF5a shows a muscle-specific expression domain and is essential for C. elegans morphogenetic development

2002 ◽  
Vol 297 (4) ◽  
pp. 1049-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Trappe ◽  
E Schulze ◽  
T Rzymski ◽  
S Fröde ◽  
W Engel
BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Koopman ◽  
L. Janssen ◽  
E. A. A. Nollen

Abstract Background Optogenetics allows the experimental manipulation of excitable cells by a light stimulus without the need for technically challenging and invasive procedures. The high degree of spatial, temporal, and intensity control that can be achieved with a light stimulus, combined with cell type-specific expression of light-sensitive ion channels, enables highly specific and precise stimulation of excitable cells. Optogenetic tools have therefore revolutionized the study of neuronal circuits in a number of models, including Caenorhabditis elegans. Despite the existence of several optogenetic systems that allow spatial and temporal photoactivation of light-sensitive actuators in C. elegans, their high costs and low flexibility have limited wide access to optogenetics. Here, we developed an inexpensive, easy-to-build, modular, and adjustable optogenetics device for use on different microscopes and worm trackers, which we called the OptoArm. Results The OptoArm allows for single- and multiple-worm illumination and is adaptable in terms of light intensity, lighting profiles, and light color. We demonstrate OptoArm’s power in a population-based multi-parameter study on the contributions of motor circuit cells to age-related motility decline. We found that individual components of the neuromuscular system display different rates of age-dependent deterioration. The functional decline of cholinergic neurons mirrors motor decline, while GABAergic neurons and muscle cells are relatively age-resilient, suggesting that rate-limiting cells exist and determine neuronal circuit ageing. Conclusion We have assembled an economical, reliable, and highly adaptable optogenetics system which can be deployed to address diverse biological questions. We provide a detailed description of the construction as well as technical and biological validation of our set-up. Importantly, use of the OptoArm is not limited to C. elegans and may benefit studies in multiple model organisms, making optogenetics more accessible to the broader research community.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 3888-3895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Hiatt ◽  
Holli M. Duren ◽  
Y. John Shyu ◽  
Ronald E. Ellis ◽  
Naoki Hisamoto ◽  
...  

Fos and Jun are components of activator protein-1 (AP-1) and play crucial roles in the regulation of many cellular, developmental, and physiological processes. Caenorhabditis elegans fos-1 has been shown to act in uterine and vulval development. Here, we provide evidence that C. elegans fos-1 and jun-1 control ovulation, a tightly regulated rhythmic program in animals. Knockdown of fos-1 or jun-1 blocks dilation of the distal spermathecal valve, a critical step for the entry of mature oocytes into the spermatheca for fertilization. Furthermore, fos-1 and jun-1 regulate the spermathecal-specific expression of plc-1, a gene that encodes a phospholipase C (PLC) isozyme that is rate-limiting for inositol triphosphate production and ovulation, and overexpression of PLC-1 rescues the ovulation defect in fos-1(RNAi) worms. Unlike fos-1, regulation of ovulation by jun-1 requires genetic interactions with eri-1 and lin-15B, which are involved in the RNA interference pathway and chromatin remodeling, respectively. At least two isoforms of jun-1 are coexpressed with fos-1b in the spermatheca, and different AP-1 dimers formed between these isoforms have distinct effects on the activation of a reporter gene. These findings uncover a novel role for FOS-1 and JUN-1 in the reproductive system and establish C. elegans as a model for studying AP-1 dimerization.


Genetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 213 (4) ◽  
pp. 1465-1478
Author(s):  
Jason Chien ◽  
Fred W. Wolf ◽  
Sarah Grosche ◽  
Nebeyu Yosef ◽  
Gian Garriga ◽  
...  

Caenorhabditis elegans larval development requires the function of the two Canal-Associated Neurons (CANs): killing the CANs by laser microsurgery or disrupting their development by mutating the gene ceh-10 results in early larval arrest. How these cells promote larval development, however, remains a mystery. In screens for mutations that bypass CAN function, we identified the gene kin-29, which encodes a member of the Salt-Inducible Kinase (SIK) family and a component of a conserved pathway that regulates various C. elegans phenotypes. Like kin-29 loss, gain-of-function mutations in genes that may act upstream of kin-29 or growth in cyclic-AMP analogs bypassed ceh-10 larval arrest, suggesting that a conserved adenylyl cyclase/PKA pathway inhibits KIN-29 to promote larval development, and that loss of CAN function results in dysregulation of KIN-29 and larval arrest. The adenylyl cyclase ACY-2 mediates CAN-dependent larval development: acy-2 mutant larvae arrested development with a similar phenotype to ceh-10 mutants, and the arrest phenotype was suppressed by mutations in kin-29. ACY-2 is expressed predominantly in the CANs, and we provide evidence that the acy-2 functions in the CANs to promote larval development. By contrast, cell-specific expression experiments suggest that kin-29 acts in both the hypodermis and neurons, but not in the CANs. Based on our findings, we propose two models for how ACY-2 activity in the CANs regulates KIN-29 in target cells.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chien ◽  
Fred W. Wolf ◽  
Sarah Grosche ◽  
Nebeyu Yosef ◽  
Gian Garriga ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCaenorhabditis elegans larval development requires the function of the two Canal-Associated Neurons (CANs): killing the CANs by laser microsurgery or disrupting their development by mutating the gene ceh-10 results in early larval arrest. How these cells promote larval development, however, remains a mystery. In screens for mutations that bypass CAN function, we identified the gene kin-29, which encodes a member of the Salt-Inducible Kinase (SIK) family and a component of a conserved pathway that regulates various C. elegans phenotypes. Like kin-29 loss, gain-of-function mutations in genes that may act upstream of kin-29 or growth in cyclic-AMP analogs bypassed ceh-10 larval arrest, suggesting that a conserved adenylyl cyclase/PKA pathway inhibits KIN-29 to promote larval development and that loss of CAN function results in dysregulation of KIN-29 and larval arrest. The adenylyl cyclase ACY-2 mediates CAN-dependent larval development: acy-2 mutant larvae arrested development with a similar phenotype to ceh-10 mutants, and the arrest phenotype was suppressed by mutations in kin-29. ACY-2 is predominantly expressed in the CANs, and we provide evidence that the acy-2 functions in the CANs to promote larval development. By contrast, cell-specific expression experiments suggest that kin-29 acts in both the hypodermis and neurons, but not in the CANs. Based on our findings, we propose that cAMP produced by ACY-2 in the CANs acts in neighboring neurons and hypodermal cells where it activates PKA and inhibits KIN-29 to promote larval development. We discuss how this conserved pathway could be partitioned between two cells.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (7) ◽  
pp. 1537-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Brunschwig ◽  
C. Wittmann ◽  
R. Schnabel ◽  
T.R. Burglin ◽  
H. Tobler ◽  
...  

The Caenorhabditis elegans lin-39, mab-5 and egl-5 Hox genes specify cell fates along the anterior-posterior body axis of the nematode during postembryonic development, but little is known about Hox gene functions during embryogenesis. Here, we show that the C. elegans labial-like gene ceh-13 is expressed in cells of many different tissues and lineages and that the rostral boundary of its expression domain is anterior to those of the other Hox genes. By transposon-mediated mutagenesis, we isolated a zygotic recessive ceh-13 loss-of-function allele, sw1, that exhibits an embryonic sublethal phenotype. Lineage analyses and immunostainings revealed defects in the organization of the anterior lateral epidermis and anterior body wall muscle cells. The epidermal and mesodermal identity of these cells, however, is correctly specified. ceh-13(sw1) mutant embryos also show fusion and adhesion defects in ectodermal cells. This suggests that ceh-13 plays a role in the anterior organization of the C. elegans embryo and is involved in the regulation of cell affinities.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron W. Reinke ◽  
Raymond Mak ◽  
Emily R. Troemel ◽  
Eric J. Bennett

AbstractMulticellular organisms are composed of tissues that have distinct functions requiring specialized proteomes. To define the proteome of a live animal with tissue and subcellular resolution, we adapted a localized proteomics technology for use in the multicellular model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. This approach couples tissue- and location-specific expression of the enzyme ascorbate peroxidase (APX), which facilitates proximity-based protein labeling in vivo, and quantitative proteomics to identify tissue- and subcellular-restricted proteomes. We identified and localized over 3000 proteins from strains of C. elegans expressing APX in either the nucleus or cytoplasm of the intestine, epidermis, body wall muscle, or pharyngeal muscle. We also identified several hundred proteins that were specifically localized to one of the four tissues analyzed or specifically localized to the cytoplasm or the nucleus. This approach resulted in the identification of both previously characterized and unknown nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. Further, we confirmed the tissue- and subcellular-specific localization of a subset of identified proteins using GFP-tagging and fluorescence microscopy, validating our in vivo proximity-based proteomics technique. Together, these results demonstrate a new approach that enables the tissue- and subcellular-specific identification and quantification of proteins within a live animal.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 2301-2311 ◽  
Author(s):  
J S Gilleard ◽  
J D Barry ◽  
I L Johnstone

The Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle collagens are encoded by a multigene family of between 50 and 100 members and are the major component of the nematode cuticular exoskeleton. They are synthesized in the hypodermis prior to secretion and incorporation into the cuticle and exhibit complex patterns of spatial and temporal expression. We have investigated the cis regulatory requirements for tissue- and stage-specific expression of the cuticle collagen gene dpy-7 and have identified a compact regulatory element which is sufficient to specify hypodermal cell reporter gene expression. This element appears to be a true tissue-specific promoter element, since it encompasses the dpy-7 transcription initiation sites and functions in an orientation-dependent manner. We have also shown, by interspecies transformation experiments, that the dpy-7 cis regulatory elements are functionally conserved between C. elegans and C. briggsae, and comparative sequence analysis supports the importance of the regulatory sequence that we have identified by reporter gene analysis. All of our data suggest that the spatial expression of the dpy-7 cuticle collagen gene is established essentially by a small tissue-specific promoter element and does not require upstream activator or repressor elements. In addition, we have found the DPY-7 polypeptide is very highly conserved between the two species and that the C. briggsae polypeptide can function appropriately within the C. elegans cuticle. This finding suggests a remarkably high level of conservation of individual cuticle components, and their interactions, between these two nematode species.


2002 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 117-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart M. Haslam ◽  
David Gems ◽  
Howard R. Morris ◽  
Anne Dell

There is no doubt that the immense amount of information that is being generated by the initial sequencing and secondary interrogation of various genomes will change the face of glycobiological research. However, a major area of concern is that detailed structural knowledge of the ultimate products of genes that are identified as being involved in glycoconjugate biosynthesis is still limited. This is illustrated clearly by the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, which was the first multicellular organism to have its entire genome sequenced. To date, only limited structural data on the glycosylated molecules of this organism have been reported. Our laboratory is addressing this problem by performing detailed MS structural characterization of the N-linked glycans of C. elegans; high-mannose structures dominate, with only minor amounts of complex-type structures. Novel, highly fucosylated truncated structures are also present which are difucosylated on the proximal N-acetylglucosamine of the chitobiose core as well as containing unusual Fucα1–2Gal1–2Man as peripheral structures. The implications of these results in terms of the identification of ligands for genomically predicted lectins and potential glycosyltransferases are discussed in this chapter. Current knowledge on the glycomes of other model organisms such as Dictyostelium discoideum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster is also discussed briefly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Almotayri ◽  
Jency Thomas ◽  
Mihiri Munasinghe ◽  
Markandeya Jois

Background: The antidepressant mianserin has been shown to extend the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a well-established model organism used in aging research. The extension of lifespan in C. elegans was shown to be dependent on increased expression of the scaffolding protein (ANK3/unc-44). In contrast, antidepressant use in humans is associated with an increased risk of death. The C. elegans in the laboratory are fed Escherichia coli (E. coli), a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrate, whereas a typical human diet is high in carbohydrates. We hypothesized that dietary carbohydrates might mitigate the lifespan-extension effect of mianserin. Objective: To investigate the effect of glucose added to the diet of C. elegans on the lifespan-extension effect of mianserin. Methods: Wild-type Bristol N2 and ANK3/unc-44 inactivating mutants were cultured on agar plates containing nematode growth medium and fed E. coli. Treatment groups included (C) control, (M50) 50 μM mianserin, (G) 73 mM glucose, and (M50G) 50 μM mianserin and 73 mM glucose. Lifespan was determined by monitoring the worms until they died. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier version of the log-rank test. Results: Mianserin treatment resulted in a 12% increase in lifespan (P<0.05) of wild-type Bristol N2 worms but reduced lifespan by 6% in ANK3/unc-44 mutants, consistent with previous research. The addition of glucose to the diet reduced the lifespan of both strains of worms and abolished the lifespan-extension by mianserin. Conclusion: The addition of glucose to the diet of C. elegans abolishes the lifespan-extension effects of mianserin.


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