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Septins and a formin have distinct functions in anaphase chiral cortical rotation in the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote.
- Source :
-
Molecular biology of the cell [Mol Biol Cell] 2021 Jul 01; Vol. 32 (14), pp. 1283-1292. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 May 19. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Many cells and tissues exhibit chirality that stems from the chirality of proteins and polymers. In the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, actomyosin contractility drives chiral rotation of the entire cortex circumferentially around the division plane during anaphase. How contractility is translated to cell-scale chirality, and what dictates handedness, are unknown. Septins are candidate contributors to cell-scale chirality because they anchor and cross-link the actomyosin cytoskeleton. We report that septins are required for anaphase cortical rotation. In contrast, the formin CYK-1, which we found to be enriched in the posterior in early anaphase, is not required for cortical rotation but contributes to its chirality. Simultaneous loss of septin and CYK-1 function led to abnormal and often reversed cortical rotation. Our results suggest that anaphase contractility leads to chiral rotation by releasing torsional stress generated during formin-based polymerization, which is polarized along the cell anterior-posterior axis and which accumulates due to actomyosin network connectivity. Our findings shed light on the molecular and physical bases for cellular chirality in the C. elegans zygote. We also identify conditions in which chiral rotation fails but animals are developmentally viable, opening avenues for future work on the relationship between early embryonic cellular chirality and animal body plan.
- Subjects :
- Actin Cytoskeleton metabolism
Actins metabolism
Actomyosin metabolism
Anaphase
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins physiology
Cell Polarity
Formins metabolism
Formins physiology
Functional Laterality physiology
Microtubules metabolism
Rotation
Septins physiology
Zygote physiology
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins metabolism
Septins metabolism
Zygote metabolism
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1939-4586
- Volume :
- 32
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Molecular biology of the cell
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 34010018
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E20-09-0576