Faculty Opinions recommendation of Rhizobium induces DNA damage in Caenorhabditis elegans intestinal cells.

In their natural habitat of rotting fruit, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans feeds on the complex bacterial communities that thrive in this rich growth medium. Hundreds of diverse bacterial strains cultured from such rotting fruit allow C. elegans growth and reproduction when tested individually. In screens for C. elegans responses to single bacterial strains associated with nematodes in fruit, we found that Rhizobium causes a genome instability phenotype; we observed abnormally long or fragmented intestinal nuclei due to aberrant nuclear division, or defective karyokinesis. The karyokinesis defects were restricted to intestinal cells and required close proximity between bacteria and the worm. A genetic screen for C. elegans mutations that cause the same intestinal karyokinesis defect followed by genome sequencing of the isolated mutant strains identified mutations that disrupt DNA damage repair pathways, suggesting that Rhizobium may cause DNA damage in C. elegans intestinal cells. We hypothesized that such DNA damage is caused by reactive oxygen species produced by Rhizobium and found that hydrogen peroxide added to benign Escherichia coli can cause the same intestinal karyokinesis defects in WT C. elegans. Supporting this model, free radical scavengers suppressed the Rhizobium-induced C. elegans DNA damage. Thus, Rhizobium may signal to eukaryotic hosts via reactive oxygen species, and the host may respond with DNA damage repair pathways.

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DNA Damage Sensitivity Assays in Caenorhabditis elegans

BIO-PROTOCOL ◽

10.21769/bioprotoc.1487 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Hyun-Min Kim ◽

Monica Colai�covo

Keyword(s):

Dna Damage ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans

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par-4, a gene required for cytoplasmic localization and determination of specific cell types in Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/130.4.771 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 130 (4) ◽

pp. 771-790 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

D G Morton ◽

J M Roos ◽

K J Kemphues

Keyword(s):

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Cell Types ◽

Intestinal Cells ◽

Specific Cell ◽

Cytoplasmic Localization ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Embryo Viability ◽

Cell Stage ◽

Maternal Genome

Abstract Specification of some cell fates in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is mediated by cytoplasmic localization under control of the maternal genome. Using nine newly isolated mutations, and two existing mutations, we have analyzed the role of the maternally expressed gene par-4 in cytoplasmic localization. We recovered seven new par-4 alleles in screens for maternal effect lethal mutations that result in failure to differentiate intestinal cells. Two additional par-4 mutations were identified in noncomplementation screens using strains with a high frequency of transposon mobility. All 11 mutations cause defects early in development of embryos produced by homozygous mutant mothers. Analysis with a deficiency in the region indicates that it33 is a strong loss-of-function mutation. par-4(it33) terminal stage embryos contain many cells, but show no morphogenesis, and are lacking intestinal cells. Temperature shifts with the it57ts allele suggest that the critical period for both intestinal differentiation and embryo viability begins during oogenesis, about 1.5 hr before fertilization, and ends before the four-cell stage. We propose that the primary function of the par-4 gene is to act as part of a maternally encoded system for cytoplasmic localization in the first cell cycle, with par-4 playing a particularly important role in the determination of intestine. Analysis of a par-4; par-2 double mutant suggests that par-4 and par-2 gene products interact in this system.

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The roles of DNA damage-dependent signals and MAPK cascades in tributyltin-induced germline apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Chemosphere ◽

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.01.045 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 108 ◽

pp. 231-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yun Wang ◽

Shunchang Wang ◽

Xun Luo ◽

Yanan Yang ◽

Fenglei Jian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Damage ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Mapk Cascades

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Roles of Caenorhabditis elegans WRN Helicase in DNA Damage Responses, and a Comparison with Its Mammalian Homolog: A Mini-Review

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000439200 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 62 (3) ◽

pp. 296-303 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jin-Sun Ryu ◽

Hyeon-Sook Koo

Keyword(s):

Dna Damage ◽

Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Werner Syndrome ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Current Status ◽

Helicase Domain ◽

Replication Forks ◽

Dna Breaks ◽

Double Strand Dna Breaks ◽

Double Strand Dna

Werner syndrome protein (WRN) is unusual among RecQ family DNA helicases in having an additional exonuclease activity. WRN is involved in the repair of double-strand DNA breaks via the homologous recombination and nonhomologous end joining pathways, and also in the base excision repair pathway. In addition, the protein promotes the recovery of stalled replication forks. The helicase activity is thought to unwind DNA duplexes, thereby moving replication forks or Holliday junctions. The targets of the exonuclease could be the nascent DNA strands at a replication fork or the ends of double-strand DNA breaks. However, it is not clear which enzyme activities are essential for repairing different types of DNA damage. Model organisms such as mice, flies, and worms deficient in WRN homologs have been investigated to understand the physiological results of defects in WRN activity. Premature aging, the most remarkable characteristic of Werner syndrome, is also seen in the mutant mice and worms, and hypersensitivity to DNA damage has been observed in WRN mutants of all three model organisms, pointing to conservation of the functions of WRN. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the WRN homolog contains a helicase domain but no exonuclease domain, so that this animal is very useful for studying the in vivo functions of the helicase without interference from the activity of the exonuclease. Here, we review the current status of investigations of C. elegans WRN-1 and discuss its functional differences from the mammalian homologs.

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