The Drosophila toucan (toc) gene is required in germline cells for the somatic cell patterning during oogenesis

Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (24) ◽  
pp. 4917-4926 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Grammont ◽  
B. Dastugue ◽  
J.L. Couderc
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Follicular Epithelium ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Large Protein ◽  
Coiled Coil Domain ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
New Gene ◽  
Germline Cells

We have characterized a new gene, called toucan, that is expressed and required in germline cells to promote proper differentiation of the somatic follicle cells. toucan mutant ovaries are defective in (i) the enclosure of newly formed germline cysts by the follicle cells, (ii) the formation of interfollicular stalks, (iii) the migration of the follicle cells over the oocyte and (iv) the formation of the eggshell. Overexpression of a toucan cDNA in the germline leads to the production of longer interfollicular stalks than wild-type ovaries, a phenotype that is the exact opposite of the toucan mutant phenotype. This observation shows that the formation of the interfollicular stalks depends not only on interactions among the somatic cells but also requires a germline signal. Moreover, dominant interactions have been observed between toucan and certain alleles of the daughterless, Notch and Delta genes, each of which is required in the somatic cells for the formation of egg chambers. toucan encodes for a large protein with a coiled-coil domain but has no other homology with known proteins. We propose that toucan participates in the production or localization of a germline-specific signal(s) that is required for the patterning of the follicular epithelium.

scholarly journals The dynein cortical anchor Num1 activates dynein motility by relieving Pac1/LIS1-mediated inhibition

2015 ◽  
Vol 211 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay G. Lammers ◽  
Steven M. Markus
Keyword(s):  
Live Cell Imaging ◽  
Cell Imaging ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Cell Cortex ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Coiled Coil Domain ◽  
Microtubule Binding Domain

Cortically anchored dynein orients the spindle through interactions with astral microtubules. In budding yeast, dynein is offloaded to Num1 receptors from microtubule plus ends. Rather than walking toward minus ends, dynein remains associated with plus ends due in part to its association with Pac1/LIS1, an inhibitor of dynein motility. The mechanism by which dynein is switched from “off” at the plus ends to “on” at the cell cortex remains unknown. Here, we show that overexpression of the coiled-coil domain of Num1 specifically depletes dynein–dynactin–Pac1/LIS1 complexes from microtubule plus ends and reduces dynein-Pac1/LIS1 colocalization. Depletion of dynein from plus ends requires its microtubule-binding domain, suggesting that motility is required. An enhanced Pac1/LIS1 affinity mutant of dynein or overexpression of Pac1/LIS1 rescues dynein plus end depletion. Live-cell imaging reveals minus end–directed dynein–dynactin motility along microtubules upon overexpression of the coiled-coil domain of Num1, an event that is not observed in wild-type cells. Our findings indicate that dynein activity is directly switched “on” by Num1, which induces Pac1/LIS1 removal.

scholarly journals Collective cell sorting requires contractile cortical waves in germline cells

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soline Chanet ◽  
Jean-René Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cells ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Primordial Follicles ◽  
Genetic Perturbations ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Germline Cells ◽  
Cortical Contractility

ABSTRACTEncapsulation of germline cells by layers of somatic cells forms the basic unit of female reproduction called primordial follicles in mammals and egg chambers in Drosophila. How germline and somatic tissues are coordinated for the morphogenesis of each separated unit remains poorly understood. Here, using improved live-imaging of Drosophila ovaries, we uncovered periodic actomyosin waves at the cortex of germ cells. These contractile waves are associated with pressure release blebs, which project from germ cells into somatic cells. We demonstrate that these cortical activities, together with cadherin-based adhesion, are required to sort each germline cyst as one collective unit. Genetic perturbations of cortical contractility, blebs protrusion or adhesion between germline and somatic cells induced failures to encapsulate any germ cells or the inclusion of too many germ cells or even the mechanical split of germline cysts. Our results reveal that germ cells play an active role in the physical coupling with somatic cells to produce the female gamete.

Laser ablation studies of the role of the Drosophila oocyte nucleus in pattern formation

Science ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 254 (5029) ◽  
pp. 290-293
Author(s):  
DJ Montell ◽  
H Keshishian ◽  
AC Spradling
Keyword(s):  
Laser Ablation ◽  
Pattern Formation ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Oocyte Nucleus ◽  
Dorsoventral Patterning ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Germline Cells

Somatic and germline cells interact during oogenesis to establish the pattern axes of the Drosophila eggshell and embryo. The role of the oocyte nucleus in pattern formation was tested with the use of laser ablation. Ablation in stage 6 to 9 egg chambers caused partial or complete ventralization of the eggshell, phenotypes similar to those of eggs produced by gurken or torpedo females. Accumulation of vasa protein at the posterior pole of treated oocytes was also disrupted. Thus the oocyte nucleus is required as late as stage 9 for dorsoventral patterning within the follicle cells and for polar plasm assembly in the oocyte.

scholarly journals Mutation of a gene for a Drosophila kinesin-like protein, Klp38B, leads to failure of cytokinesis

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (8) ◽  
pp. 945-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ohkura ◽  
T. Torok ◽  
G. Tick ◽  
J. Hoheisel ◽  
I. Kiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Polyploid Cells ◽  
Morphological Defects ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Bipolar Spindles ◽  
Cell Follicle

Mutations in a gene (Klp38B) encoding a novel kinesin-like protein in Drosophila melanogaster lead to the formation of polyploid cells in the larval central nervous system and in the follicle cells of adult egg chambers. Some homozygous mutants survive to adulthood and also exhibit morphological defects indicative of abnormal cell cycle progression, including rough eyes, missing bristles, and abnormal abdominal cuticles. In larval brains, there is no accumulation of mitotic cells and the frequency of anaphase figures is comparable to wild type, suggesting that nuclear division is not affected. Such brains contain polyploid cells with metaphase and anaphase chromosomes associated with bipolar spindles. Such spindles have a number of unseparated centrosomes at their poles reflecting the degree of polyploidy of the cell. Follicle cells frequently contain two nuclei of roughly equal size. Taken together, we conclude that these Klp38B mutations lead to a failure of cytokinesis resulting in polyploidy, and discuss whether or not this is a direct effect of the mutation.

Regulation of cell proliferation and patterning in Drosophila oogenesis by Hedgehog signaling

Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (10) ◽  
pp. 2165-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Zhang ◽  
D. Kalderon
Keyword(s):  
Hedgehog Signaling ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Follicle Cell ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Cell Lineages ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Hh Signaling ◽  
Egg Chamber ◽  
Activity Loss

The localized expression of Hedgehog (Hh) at the extreme anterior of Drosophila ovarioles suggests that it might provide an asymmetric cue that patterns developing egg chambers along the anteroposterior axis. Ectopic or excessive Hh signaling disrupts egg chamber patterning dramatically through primary effects at two developmental stages. First, excess Hh signaling in somatic stem cells stimulates somatic cell over-proliferation. This likely disrupts the earliest interactions between somatic and germline cells and may account for the frequent mis-positioning of oocytes within egg chambers. Second, the initiation of the developmental programs of follicle cell lineages appears to be delayed by ectopic Hh signaling. This may account for the formation of ectopic polar cells, the extended proliferation of follicle cells and the defective differentiation of posterior follicle cells, which, in turn, disrupts polarity within the oocyte. Somatic cells in the ovary cannot proliferate normally in the absence of Hh or Smoothened activity. Loss of protein kinase A activity restores the proliferation of somatic cells in the absence of Hh activity and allows the formation of normally patterned ovarioles. Hence, localized Hh is not essential to direct egg chamber patterning.

scholarly journals Soma-to-Germline Interactions During Drosophila Oogenesis Are Influenced by Dose-Sensitive Interactions Between cut and the Genes cappuccino, ovarian tumor and agnostic

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M Jackson ◽  
Celeste A Berg
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Ovarian Tumor ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Germline Cell ◽  
Binucleate Cells ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Cytoskeletal Function ◽  
Germline Cells

Abstract The cut gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a homeodomain protein that regulates a soma-to-germline signaling pathway required for proper morphology of germline cells during oogenesis. cut is required solely in somatic follicle cells, and when cut function is disrupted, membranes separating adjacent nurse cells break down and the structural integrity of the actin cytoskeleton is compromised. To understand the mechanism by which cut expression influences germline cell morphology, we determined whether binucleate cells form by defective cytokinesis or by fusion of adjacent cells. Egg chambers produced by cut, cappuccino, and chickadee mutants contained binucleate cells in which ring canal remnants stained with antibodies against Hu-li tai shao and Kelch, two proteins that are added to ring canals after cytokinesis is complete. In addition, defects in egg chamber morphology were observed only in middle to late stages of oogenesis, suggesting that germline cell cytokineses were normal in these mutants. cut exhibited dose-sensitive genetic interactions with cappuccino but not with chickadee or other genes that regulate cytoskeletal function, including armadillo, spaghetti squash, quail, spire, Src64B, and Tec29A. Genomic regions containing genes that cooperate with cut were identified by performing a second-site noncomplementing screen using a collection of chromosomal deficiencies. Sixteen regions that interact with cut during oogenesis and eight regions that interact during the development of other tissues were identified. Genetic interactions between cut and the ovarian tumor gene were identified as a result of the screen. In addition, the gene agnostic was found to be required during oogenesis, and genetic interactions between cut and agnostic were revealed. These results demonstrate that a signaling pathway regulating the morphology of germline cells is sensitive to genetic doses of cut and the genes cappuccino, ovarian tumor, and agnostic. Since these genes regulate cytoskeletal function and cAMP metabolism, the cut-mediated pathway functionally links these elements to preserve the cytoarchitecture of the germline cells.

Mosaic analyses reveal the function ofDrosophila Rasin embryonic dorsoventral patterning and dorsal follicle cell morphogenesis

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (9) ◽  
pp. 2209-2222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. James ◽  
Jennie B. Dorman ◽  
Celeste A. Berg
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinases ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Follicle Cell ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Follicular Epithelium ◽  
Dorsoventral Patterning ◽  
Ras Pathway ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Ras Signal Transduction

In Drosophila melanogaster, the Ras signal transduction pathway is the primary effector of receptor tyrosine kinases, which govern diverse developmental programs. During oogenesis, epidermal growth factor receptor signaling through the Ras pathway patterns the somatic follicular epithelium, establishing the dorsoventral asymmetry of eggshell and embryo. Analysis of follicle cell clones homozygous for a null allele of Ras demonstrates that Ras is required cell-autonomously to repress pipe transcription, the critical first step in embryonic dorsoventral patterning. The effects of aberrant pipe expression in Ras mosaic egg chambers can be ameliorated, however, by post-pipe patterning events, which salvage normal dorsoventral polarity in most embryos derived from egg chambers with dorsal Ras clones. The patterned follicular epithelium also determines the final shape of the eggshell, including the dorsal respiratory appendages, which are formed by the migration of two dorsolateral follicle cell populations. Confocal analyses of mosaic egg chambers demonstrate that Ras is required both cell- and non cell-autonomously for morphogenetic behaviors characteristic of dorsal follicle cell migration, and reveal a novel, Ras-dependent pattern of basal E-cadherin localization in dorsal midline follicle cells.

scholarly journals The role of integrins in Drosophila egg chamber morphogenesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly E. Lovegrove ◽  
Dan T. Bergstralh ◽  
Daniel St Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Basement Membrane ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Follicle Cell ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Follicular Epithelium ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Germline Cyst ◽  
Egg Chamber

AbstractA Drosophila egg chamber is comprised of a germline cyst surrounded by a tightly-organised epithelial monolayer, the follicular epithelium (FE). Loss of integrin function from the FE disrupts epithelial organisation at egg chamber termini, but the cause of this phenotype remains unclear. Here we show that the β-integrin Myospheroid (Mys) is only required during early oogenesis when the pre-follicle cells form the FE. mys mutants disrupt both the formation of a monolayered epithelium at egg chamber termini and the morphogenesis of the stalk between adjacent egg chambers, which develops through the intercalation of two rows of cells into a single-cell wide stalk. Secondary epithelia, like the FE, have been proposed to require adhesion to the basement membrane to polarise. However, Mys is not required for pre-follicle cell polarisation, as both follicle and stalk cells localise polarity factors correctly, despite being mispositioned. Instead, loss of integrins causes pre-follicle cells to basally constrict, detach from the basement membrane and become internalised. Thus, integrin function is dispensable for pre-follicle cell polarity but is required to maintain cellular organisation and cell shape during morphogenesis.

scholarly journals A Point Mutation in the N-Terminal Coiled-Coil Domain Releases c-Fes Tyrosine Kinase Activity and Survival Signaling in Myeloid Leukemia Cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 6170-6180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyun Y. Cheng ◽  
Anthony P. Schiavone ◽  
Thomas E. Smithgall
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Point Mutation ◽  
Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tyrosine Kinase Activity ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Gm Csf ◽  
Coiled Coil Domain

ABSTRACT The c-fes locus encodes a 93-kDa non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase (Fes) that regulates the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic and vascular endothelial cells. Unique to Fes is a long N-terminal sequence with two regions of strong homology to coiled-coil oligomerization domains. We introduced leucine-to-proline substitutions into the coiled coils that were predicted to disrupt the coiled-coil structure. The resulting mutant proteins, together with wild-type Fes, were fused to green fluorescent protein and expressed in Rat-2 fibroblasts. We observed that a point mutation in the first coiled-coil domain (L145P) dramatically increased Fes tyrosine kinase and transforming activities in this cell type. In contrast, a similar point mutation in the second coiled-coil motif (L334P) was without effect. However, combining the L334P and L145P mutations reduced transforming and kinase activities by approximately 50% relative to the levels of activity produced with the L145P mutation alone. To study the effects of the coiled-coil mutations in a biologically relevant context, we expressed the mutant proteins in the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-dependent myeloid leukemia cell line TF-1. In this cellular context, the L145P mutation induced GM-CSF independence, cell attachment, and spreading. These effects correlated with a marked increase in L145P protein autophosphorylation relative to that of wild-type Fes. In contrast, the double coiled-coil mutant protein showed greatly reduced kinase and biological activities in TF-1 cells. These data are consistent with a role for the first coiled coil in the negative regulation of kinase activity and a requirement for the second coiled coil in either oligomerization or recruitment of signaling partners. Gel filtration experiments showed that the unique N-terminal region interconverts between monomeric and oligomeric forms. Single point mutations favored oligomerization, while the double point mutant protein eluted essentially as the monomer. These data provide new evidence for coiled-coil-mediated regulation of c-Fes tyrosine kinase activity and signaling, a mechanism unique among tyrosine kinases.

scholarly journals Septate junction proteins are required for egg elongation and border cell migration during oogenesis in Drosophila

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifa Alhadyian ◽  
Dania Shoaib ◽  
Robert E Ward
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Cell Migration ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Septate Junction ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Follicular Epithelium ◽  
Border Cell ◽  
Egg Chambers ◽  
Border Cell Migration ◽  
Protein Components

Abstract Protein components of the invertebrate occluding junction—known as the septate junction (SJ) - are required for morphogenetic developmental events during embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. In order to determine whether SJ proteins are similarly required for morphogenesis during other developmental stages, we investigated the localization and requirement of four representative SJ proteins during oogenesis: Contactin, Macroglobulin complement-related, Neurexin IV, and Coracle. A number of morphogenetic processes occur during oogenesis, including egg elongation, formation of dorsal appendages, and border cell migration. We found that all four SJ proteins are expressed in egg chambers throughout oogenesis, with the highest and most sustained levels in the follicular epithelium (FE). In the FE, SJ proteins localize along the lateral membrane during early and mid-oogenesis, but become enriched in an apical-lateral domain (the presumptive SJ) by stage 10B. SJ protein relocalization requires the expression of other SJ proteins, as well as Rab5 and Rab11 in a manner similar to SJ biogenesis in the embryo. Knocking down the expression of these SJ proteins in follicle cells throughout oogenesis results in egg elongation defects and abnormal dorsal appendages. Similarly, reducing the expression of SJ genes in the border cell cluster results in border cell migration defects. Together, these results demonstrate an essential requirement for SJ genes in morphogenesis during oogenesis, and suggests that SJ proteins may have conserved functions in epithelial morphogenesis across developmental stages. Article Summary: Septate junction (SJ) proteins are essential for forming an occluding junction in epithelial tissues in Drosophila melanogaster, and also for morphogenetic events that occur prior to the formation of the junction during embryogenesis. Here we show that SJ proteins are expressed in the follicular epithelium of egg chambers during oogenesis and are required for morphogenetic events including egg elongation, dorsal appendages formation, and border cell migration. Additionally, the formation of SJs during oogenesis is similar to that in embryonic epithelia.

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