Characterization of a germ-line proliferation mutation in C. elegans

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Beanan ◽  
S. Strome
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Large Populations

The C. elegans germ line is generated by extensive proliferation of the two germ-line progenitor cells present in newly hatched larvae. We describe genetic and phenotypic characterization of glp-4, a locus whose product is required for normal proliferation of the germ line. glp-4(bn2ts) mutant worms raised at the restrictive temperature contain approximately 12 germ nuclei, in contrast to the 700–1000 present in wild-type adults. The few germ cells present in sterile glp-4 adults appear to be arrested at prophase of the mitotic cell cycle. This cell-cycle disruption prevents the germ cells from entering meiosis and differentiating into gametes. Shifting sterile glp-4 worms to the permissive temperature enables their germ cells to undergo extensive proliferation and form gametes, demonstrating that the bn2-induced cell-cycle arrest is reversible and that proliferation and differentiation of germ cells can be uncoupled from development of the somatic gonad. The glp-4(bn2ts) mutation can be used to generate large populations of worms that are severely depleted in germ cells, facilitating determination of whether any gene of interest is expressed in the germ line or soma or both.

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

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-121 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Identification of grandchildless loci whose products are required for normal germ-line development in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 1061-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
E E Capowski ◽  
P Martin ◽  
C Garvin ◽  
S Strome
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Homozygous Mutant ◽  
Germ Granules

Abstract To identify genes that encode maternal components required for development of the germ line in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we have screened for mutations that confer a maternal-effect sterile or "grandchildless" phenotype: homozygous mutant hermaphrodites produced by heterozygous mothers are themselves fertile, but produce sterile progeny. Our screens have identified six loci, defined by 21 mutations. This paper presents genetic and phenotypic characterization of four of the loci. The majority of mutations, those in mes-2, mes-3 and mes-4, affect postembryonic germ-line development; the progeny of mutant mothers undergo apparently normal embryogenesis but develop into agametic adults with 10-1000-fold reductions in number of germ cells. In contrast, mutations in mes-1 cause defects in cytoplasmic partitioning during embryogenesis, and the resulting larvae lack germ-line progenitor cells. Mutations in all of the mes loci primarily affect the germ line, and none disrupt the structural integrity of germ granules. This is in contrast to grandchildless mutations in Drosophila melanogaster, all of which disrupt germ granules and affect abdominal as well as germ-line development.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF THE MITOTIC CELL-CYCLE MUTATION cdc4 ON YEAST MEIOSIS

Genetics ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72
Author(s):  
G Simchen ◽  
J Hirschberg
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Mitotic Cell Cycle ◽  
Sporulation Medium ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Yeast Meiosis ◽  
High Degree

ABSTRACT The mitotic cell-cycle mutation cdc4 has been reported to block the initiation of nuclear DNA replication and the separation of spindle plaques after their replication. Meiosis in cdc4/cdc4 diploids is normal at the permissive temperature (25°) and is arrested at the first division (one-nucleus stage) at the restrictive temperature (34° or 36°). Arrested cells at 34° show a high degree of commitment to recombination (at least 50% of the controls) but no haploidization, while cells arrested at 36° are not committed to recombination. Meiotic cells arrested at 34° show a delayed and reduced synthesis of DNA (at most 40% of the control), at least half of which is probably mitochondrial. It is suggested that recombination commitment does not depend on the completion of nuclear premeiotic DNA replication in sporulation medium.—Transfer of cdc4/cdc4 cells to the restrictive temperature at the onset of sporulation produces a uniform phenotype of arrest at a 1-nucleus morphology. On the other hand, shifts of the meiotic cells to the restrictive temperature at later times produce two additional phenotypes of arrest, thus suggesting that the function of cdc4 is required at several points in meiosis (at least at three different times).

Yeast L double-stranded ribonucleic acid is synthesized during the G1 phase but not the S phase of the cell cycle

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. 673-679
Author(s):  
V A Zakian ◽  
D W Wagner ◽  
W L Fangman
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid ◽  
Cell Cycle Control ◽  
S Phase ◽  
G1 Phase ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Phase Synthesis ◽  
Ribonucleic Acids ◽  
Alpha Factor

The cytoplasm of Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains two major classes of protein-encapsulated double-stranded ribonucleic acids (dsRNA's), L and M. Replication of L and M dsRNA's was examined in cells arrested in the G1 phase by either alpha-factor, a yeast mating pheromone, or the restrictive temperature for a cell cycle mutant (cdc7). [3H]uracil was added during the arrest periods to cells prelabeled with [14C]uracil, and replication was monitored by determining the ratio of 3H/14C for purified dsRNA's. Like mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid, both L and M dsRNA's were synthesized in the G1 arrested cells. The replication of L dsRNA was also examined during the S phase, using cells synchronized in two different ways. Cells containing the cdc7 mutation, treated sequentially with alpha-factor and then the restrictive temperature, enter a synchronous S phase when transferred to permissive temperature. When cells entered the S phase, synthesis of L dsRNA ceased, and little or no synthesis was detected throughout the S phase. Synthesis of L dsRNA was also observed in G1 phase cells isolated from asynchronous cultures by velocity centrifugation. Again, synthesis ceased when cells entered the S phase. These results indicate that L dsRNA replication is under cell cycle control. The control differs from that of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid, which replicates in all phases of the cell cycle, and from that of 2-micron DNA, a multiple-copy plasmid whose replication is confined to the S phase.

scholarly journals Progression from a stem cell–like state to early differentiation in the C. elegans germ line

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 2048-2053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Cinquin ◽  
Sarah L. Crittenden ◽  
Dyan E. Morgan ◽  
Judith Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Stem Cell Biology ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Early Differentiation ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Stem Cell Maintenance ◽  
System A

Controls of stem cell maintenance and early differentiation are known in several systems. However, the progression from stem cell self-renewal to overt signs of early differentiation is a poorly understood but important problem in stem cell biology. The Caenorhabditis elegans germ line provides a genetically defined model for studying that progression. In this system, a single-celled mesenchymal niche, the distal tip cell (DTC), employs GLP-1/Notch signaling and an RNA regulatory network to balance self-renewal and early differentiation within the “mitotic region,” which continuously self-renews while generating new gametes. Here, we investigate germ cells in the mitotic region for their capacity to differentiate and their state of maturation. Two distinct pools emerge. The “distal pool” is maintained by the DTC in an essentially uniform and immature or “stem cell–like” state; the “proximal pool,” by contrast, contains cells that are maturing toward early differentiation and are likely transit-amplifying cells. A rough estimate of pool sizes is 30–70 germ cells in the distal immature pool and ≈150 in the proximal transit-amplifying pool. We present a simple model for how the network underlying the switch between self-renewal and early differentiation may be acting in these two pools. According to our model, the self-renewal mode of the network maintains the distal pool in an immature state, whereas the transition between self-renewal and early differentiation modes of the network underlies the graded maturation of germ cells in the proximal pool. We discuss implications of this model for controls of stem cells more broadly.

scholarly journals Structural and functional characterization of Sec66p, a new subunit of the polypeptide translocation apparatus in the yeast endoplasmic reticulum.

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 931-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Feldheim ◽  
K Yoshimura ◽  
A Admon ◽  
R Schekman
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Signal Sequence ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Permissive Temperature

SEC66 encodes the 31.5-kDa glycoprotein of the Sec63p complex, an integral endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex required for translocation of presecretory proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. DNA sequence analysis of SEC66 predicts a 23-kDa protein with no obvious NH2-terminal signal sequence but with one domain of sufficient length and hydrophobicity to span a lipid bilayer. Antibodies directed against a recombinant form of Sec66p were used to confirm the membrane location of Sec66p and that Sec66p is a glycoprotein of 31.5 kDa. A null mutation in SEC66 renders yeast cells temperature sensitive for growth. sec66 cells accumulate some secretory precursors at a permissive temperature and a variety of precursors at the restrictive temperature. sec66 cells show defects in Sec63p complex formation. Because sec66 cells affect the translocation of some, but not all secretory precursor polypeptides, the role of Sec66p may be to interact with the signal peptide of presecretory proteins.

scholarly journals DAF-18/PTEN inhibits germline zygotic gene activation during primordial germ cell quiescence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda L. Fry ◽  
Amy Webster ◽  
Rojin Chitrakar ◽  
L. Ryan Baugh ◽  
E. Jane Albert Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Primordial Germ Cell ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Germline Gene ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Zygotic Gene ◽  
Zygotic Gene Activation

AbstractQuiescence, an actively-maintained reversible state of cell cycle arrest, is not well understood. PTEN is one of the most frequently lost tumor suppressors in human cancers and regulates quiescence of stem cells and cancer cells. In C. elegans mutant for daf-18, the sole C. elegans PTEN ortholog, primordial germ cells (PGCs) divide inappropriately in starvation conditions, in a TOR-dependent manner. Here, we further investigated the role of daf-18 in maintaining PGC quiescence. We found that maternal or zygotic daf-18 is sufficient to maintain cell cycle quiescence, that daf-18 acts in the germ line and soma, and that daf-18 affects timing of PGC divisions in fed animals. Importantly, our results also implicate daf-18 in zygotic germline gene activation, though not in germline fate specification. However, TOR is less important to zygotic germline gene expression, suggesting that in the absence of food daf-18/PTEN prevents inappropriate germline zygotic gene activation and cell division by distinct mechanisms.

The Caenorhabditis elegans gene ncc-1 encodes a cdc2-related kinase required for M phase in meiotic and mitotic cell divisions, but not for S phase

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (10) ◽  
pp. 2227-2239 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Boxem ◽  
D.G. Srinivasan ◽  
S. van den Heuvel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
S Phase ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Nuclear Envelope Breakdown ◽  
Cell Divisions ◽  
M Phase ◽  
Single Transition

We have identified six protein kinases that belong to the family of cdc2-related kinases in Caenorhabditis elegans. Results from RNA interference experiments indicate that at least one of these kinases is required for cell-cycle progression during meiosis and mitosis. This kinase, encoded by the ncc-1 gene, is closely related to human Cdk1/Cdc2, Cdk2 and Cdk3 and yeast CDC28/cdc2(+). We addressed whether ncc-1 acts to promote passage through a single transition or multiple transitions in the cell cycle, analogous to Cdks in vertebrates or yeasts, respectively. We isolated five recessive ncc-1 mutations in a genetic screen for mutants that resemble larval arrested ncc-1(RNAi) animals. Our results indicate that maternal ncc-1 product is sufficient for embryogenesis, and that zygotic expression is required for cell divisions during larval development. Cells that form the postembryonic lineages in wild-type animals do not enter mitosis in ncc-1 mutants, as indicated by lack of chromosome condensation and nuclear envelope breakdown. However, progression through G1 and S phase appears unaffected, as revealed by expression of ribonucleotide reductase, incorporation of BrdU and DNA quantitation. Our results indicate that C. elegans uses multiple Cdks to regulate cell-cycle transitions and that ncc-1 is the C. elegans ortholog of Cdk1/Cdc2 in other metazoans, required for M phase in meiotic as well as mitotic cell cycles.

Characterization of the fission yeast cdc10+ protein that is required for commitment to the cell cycle

1989 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Simanis ◽  
P. Nurse
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mrna Level ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
S Phase ◽  
Mitotic Cell Cycle ◽  
State Changes ◽  
Beta Galactosidase

We have used antiserum raised against a beta-galactosidase-cdc10+ fusion protein to identify the protein product of the cdc10+ start gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This gene is required for progress through the G1 phase of the cell cycle and for activating processes such as the increase in histone mRNA level in preparation for S phase. The protein has an apparent molecular weight of 87,000 and is phosphorylated on multiple serine residues. The protein remains phosphorylated throughout the mitotic cell cycle and shows no significant steady-state changes in level. The antiserum has also detected a protein similar in size to p87cdc10 in human cells.

Three genes of the MAP kinase cascade, mek-2, mpk-1/sur-1 and let-60 ras, are required for meiotic cell cycle progression in Caenorhabditis elegans

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (8) ◽  
pp. 2525-2535 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Church ◽  
K.L. Guan ◽  
E.J. Lambie
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Meiotic Cell ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Genetic Mosaic

In the germline of Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites, meiotic cell cycle progression occurs in spatially restricted regions. Immediately after leaving the distal mitotic region, germ cells enter meiosis and thereafter remain in the pachytene stage of first meiotic prophase for an extended period. At the dorsoventral gonadal flexure, germ cells exit pachytene and subsequently become arrested in diakinesis. We have found that exit from pachytene is dependent on the function of three members of the MAP kinase signaling cascade. One of these genes, mek-2, is a newly identified C. elegans MEK (MAP kinase kinase). The other two genes, mpk-1/sur-1 (MAP kinase) and let-60 ras, were previously identified based on their roles in vulval induction and are shown here to act in combination with mek-2 to permit exit from pachytene. Through genetic mosaic analysis, we demonstrate that the expression of mpk-1/sur-1 is required within the germline to permit exit from pachytene.

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