Activation of a transposable element in the germ line but not the soma of Caenorhabditis elegans

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in Caenorhabditis elegans variety Bergerac. We investigated the genetic and molecular properties of Tc1 transposition and excision. We show that Tc1 insertion into the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene was strongly site specific. The DNA sequences of independent Tc1 insertion sites were similar to each other, and we present a consensus sequence for Tc1 insertion that describes these similarities. We show that Tc1 excision was usually imprecise. Tc1 excision was imprecise in both germ line and somatic cells. Imprecise excision generated novel unc-54 alleles that had amino acid substitutions, amino acid insertions, and, in certain cases, probably altered mRNA splicing. The DNA sequences remaining after Tc1 somatic excision were the same as those remaining after germ line excision, but the frequency of somatic excision was at least 1,000-fold higher than that of germ line excision. The genetic properties of Tc1 excision, combined with the DNA sequences of the resulting unc-54 alleles, demonstrated that excision was dependent on Tc1 transposition functions in both germ line and somatic cells. Somatic excision was not regulated in the same strain-specific manner as germ-line excision was. In a genetic background where Tc1 transposition and excision in the germ line was not detectable, Tc1 excision in the soma still occurred at high frequency.

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Insertion and excision of Caenorhabditis elegans transposable element Tc1.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.8.2.737 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 737-746 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

D Eide ◽

P Anderson

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Transposable Element ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Germ Line ◽

Consensus Sequence ◽

Somatic Cells ◽

Chain Gene ◽

Imprecise Excision ◽

Insertion Sites

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in Caenorhabditis elegans variety Bergerac. We investigated the genetic and molecular properties of Tc1 transposition and excision. We show that Tc1 insertion into the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene was strongly site specific. The DNA sequences of independent Tc1 insertion sites were similar to each other, and we present a consensus sequence for Tc1 insertion that describes these similarities. We show that Tc1 excision was usually imprecise. Tc1 excision was imprecise in both germ line and somatic cells. Imprecise excision generated novel unc-54 alleles that had amino acid substitutions, amino acid insertions, and, in certain cases, probably altered mRNA splicing. The DNA sequences remaining after Tc1 somatic excision were the same as those remaining after germ line excision, but the frequency of somatic excision was at least 1,000-fold higher than that of germ line excision. The genetic properties of Tc1 excision, combined with the DNA sequences of the resulting unc-54 alleles, demonstrated that excision was dependent on Tc1 transposition functions in both germ line and somatic cells. Somatic excision was not regulated in the same strain-specific manner as germ-line excision was. In a genetic background where Tc1 transposition and excision in the germ line was not detectable, Tc1 excision in the soma still occurred at high frequency.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Dynamic regulation of caveolin-1 trafficking in the germ line and embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1092571.547000 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Michel Labouesse

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Germ Line ◽

Dynamic Regulation ◽

Caveolin 1

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glp-3 Is Required for Mitosis and Meiosis in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germ Line

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/145.1.111 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 145 (1) ◽

pp. 111-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lisa C Kadyk ◽

Eric J Lambie ◽

Judith Kimble

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Germ Cells ◽

Germ Line ◽

Stem Cell Population ◽

Phenotypic Characterization ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Dapi Staining ◽

Cell Cycles ◽

C Elegans ◽

Mitosis And Meiosis

The germ line is the only tissue in Caenorhabditis elegans in which a stem cell population continues to divide mitotically throughout life; hence the cell cycles of the germ line and the soma are regulated differently. Here we report the genetic and phenotypic characterization of the glp-3 gene. In animals homozygous for each of five recessive loss-of-function alleles, germ cells in both hermaphrodites and males fail to progress through mitosis and meiosis, but somatic cells appear to divide normally. Germ cells in animals grown at 15° appear by DAPI staining to be uniformly arrested at the G2/M transition with <20 germ cells per gonad on average, suggesting a checkpoint-mediated arrest. In contrast, germ cells in mutant animals grown at 25° frequently proliferate slowly during adulthood, eventually forming small germ lines with several hundred germ cells. Nevertheless, cells in these small germ lines never undergo meiosis. Double mutant analysis with mutations in other genes affecting germ cell proliferation supports the idea that glp-3 may encode a gene product that is required for the mitotic and meiotic cell cycles in the C. elegans germ line.

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Dynamic Regulation of Caveolin-1 Trafficking in the Germ Line and Embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans

Molecular Biology of the Cell ◽

10.1091/mbc.e06-03-0211 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 3085-3094 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Ken Sato ◽

Miyuki Sato ◽

Anjon Audhya ◽

Karen Oegema ◽

Peter Schweinsberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Plasma Membrane ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Fluorescent Protein ◽

Germ Line ◽

Cortical Granule ◽

Major Protein ◽

Dynamic Regulation ◽

Caveolin 1 ◽

Green Fluorescent

Caveolin is the major protein component required for the formation of caveolae on the plasma membrane. Here we show that trafficking of Caenorhabditis elegans caveolin-1 (CAV-1) is dynamically regulated during development of the germ line and embryo. In oocytes a CAV-1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein is found on the plasma membrane and in large vesicles (CAV-1 bodies). After ovulation and fertilization the CAV-1 bodies fuse with the plasma membrane in a manner reminiscent of cortical granule exocytosis as described in other species. Fusion of CAV-1 bodies with the plasma membrane appears to be regulated by the advancing cell cycle, and not fertilization per se, because fusion can proceed in spe-9 fertilization mutants but is blocked by RNA interference–mediated knockdown of an anaphase-promoting complex component (EMB-27). After exocytosis, most CAV-1-GFP is rapidly endocytosed and degraded within one cell cycle. CAV-1 bodies in oocytes appear to be produced by the Golgi apparatus in an ARF-1–dependent, clathrin-independent, mechanism. Conversely endocytosis and degradation of CAV-1-GFP in embryos requires clathrin, dynamin, and RAB-5. Our results demonstrate that the distribution of CAV-1 is highly dynamic during development and provides new insights into the sorting mechanisms that regulate CAV-1 localization.

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Major sex-determining genes and the control of sexual dimorphism in Caenorhabditis elegans

Genome ◽

10.1139/g89-116 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 625-637 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jonathan Hodgkin ◽

Andrew D. Chisholm ◽

Michael M. Shen

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Sex Determination ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Germ Line ◽

Cell Lineage ◽

Regulatory Genes ◽

Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

X Chromosomes ◽

The Many ◽

Lineage Analysis

Sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans involves a cascade of major regulatory genes connecting the primary sex determining signal, X chromosome dosage, to key switch genes, which in turn direct development along either male or female pathways. Animals with one X chromosome (XO) are male, while animals with two X chromosomes (XX) are hermaphrodite: hermaphrodite development occurs because the action of the regulatory genes is modified in the germ line so that both sperm and oocytes are made inside a completely female soma. The regulatory genes are being examined by both genetic and molecular means. We discuss how these major genes, in particular the last switch gene in the cascade, tra-1, might regulate the many different sex-specific events that occur during the development of the hermaphrodite and of the male.Key words: nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, sex determination, sexual differentiation, cell lineage analysis.

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Identification Of A Novel Gene Altered In The RQ1 Mutant Strain Affecting Motor Axon Migration In Caenorhabditis Elegans

10.32920/ryerson.14662620 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Haider Z. Naqvi

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Axon Guidance ◽

Motor Neurons ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Germ Line ◽

Strong Indication ◽

Wild Type ◽

C Elegans ◽

Novel Gene ◽

Mutation Region

Novel genetic enhancer screens were conducted targeting mutants involved in the guidance of axons of the DA and DB classes of motor neurons in C. elegans. These mutations are expected in genes that function in parallel to the unc-g/Netrin pathway. The screen was conducted in an unc-5(e53) genetic background and enhancers of the axon guidance defects caused by the absence of UNC-5 were identified. Three mutants were previously identified in the screen called rq1, rq2 and rq3 and two additional mutants called H2-4 and M1-3, were isolated in this study. In order to identify the gene affected by the rq1 mutation, wild-type copies of genes in the mapped rq1 mutation region were injected into the mutants to rescue the phenotypic defects. This is a strong indication that the gene of interest is a novel gene called H04D03.1. Promising results indicate that the H04D03.1 protein also works in germ-line apoptosis.

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