Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5483/BMBRep.2011.44.4.285

A potential role for fatty acid biosynthesis genes during molting and cuticle formation in Caenorhabditis elegans  

Li, Yingxiu (Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University)
Paik, Young-Ki (Department of Biomedical Science, World Class University Graduate School Program, and Yonsei Proteome Research Center, Yonsei University)
Publication Information
BMB Reports / v.44, no.4, 2011 , pp. 285-290 More about this Journal
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes a developmental molting process that involves a coordinated interplay among diverse intracellular pathways. Here, we investigated the functions of two fatty acid biosynthesis genes; pod-2, encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fasn-1, encoding fatty acid synthase, in the C. elegans molting process. Although both the pod-2 and fasn-1 genes were expressed at constant levels throughout C. elegans development, knockdown of the proteins encoded by these genes using RNA interference produced severe defects in triglyceride production, molting, and reproduction that were coupled to suppression of NAS-37, a metalloprotease. An assessment of the structure and integrity of the cuticle using a COL-19::GFP marker and Hoechst 33258 staining showed that downregulation of either pod-2 or fasn-1 impaired cuticle formation and disrupted the integrity of the cuticle and the hypodermal membrane.
Keywords
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase; C. elegans; Cuticle; Development; Fatty acid synthase; Molting;
Citations & Related Records

Times Cited By Web Of Science : 2  (Related Records In Web of Science)
Times Cited By SCOPUS : 3
연도 인용수 순위
1 Kuervers, L. M., Jones, C. L., O'Neil, N. J. and Baillie, D. L. (2003) The sterol modifying enzyme LET-767 is essential for growth, reproduction and development in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol. Genet. Genomics 270, 121-131.   DOI
2 Brooks, D. R., Appleford, P. J., Murray, L. and Isaac, R. E. (2003) An essential role in molting and morphogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans for ACN-1, a novel member of the angiotensin-converting enzyme family that lacks a metallopeptidase active site. J. Biol. Chem. 278, 52340-52346.   DOI   ScienceOn
3 Hashmi, S., Zhang, J., Oksov, Y. and Lustigman, S. (2004) The Caenorhabditis elegans cathepsin Z-like cysteine protease, Ce-CPZ-1, has a multifunctional role during the worms' development. J. Biol. Chem. 279, 6035-6045.   DOI   ScienceOn
4 Davis, M. W., Birnie, A. J., Chan, A. C., Page, A. P. and Jorgensen, E. M. (2004) A conserved metalloprotease mediates ecdysis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Development 131, 6001-6008.   DOI   ScienceOn
5 Yochem, J., Tuck, S., Greenwald, I. and Han, M. (1999) A gp330/megalin-related protein is required in the major epidermis of Caenorhabditis elegans for completion of molting. Development 126, 597-606.
6 Kostrouchova, M., Krause, M., Kostrouch, Z. and Rall, J. E. (1998) CHR3: a Caenorhabditis elegans orphan nuclear hormone receptor required for proper epidermal development and molting. Development 125, 1617-1626.
7 Kostrouchova, M., Krause, M., Kostrouch, Z. and Rall, J. E. (2001) Nuclear hormone receptor CHR3 is a critical regulator of all four larval molts of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 7360-7365.   DOI   ScienceOn
8 Magner, D. B. and Antebi, A. (2008) Caenorhabditis elegans nuclear receptors: insights into life traits. Trends. Endocrinol. Metab. 19, 153-160.   DOI   ScienceOn
9 Page, A. P. and Johnstone, I. L. (2007) The cuticle. WormBook 19, 1-15.
10 Moribe, H., Yochem, J., Yamada, H., Tabuse, Y., Fujimoto, T. and Mekada, E. (2004) Tetraspanin protein (TSP-15) is required for epidermal integrity in Caenorhabditis elegans. J. Cell Sci. 117, 5209-5220.   DOI   ScienceOn
11 Simons, K. and Ikonen, E. (1997) Functional rafts in cell membranes. Nature 387, 569-572.   DOI   ScienceOn
12 Craig, H., Isaac, R. E. and Brooks, D. R. (2007) Unravelling the moulting degradome: new opportunities for chemotherapy? Trends Parasitol. 23, 248-253.   DOI   ScienceOn
13 Tagawa, A., Rappleye, C. A. and Aroian, R. V. (2001) pod-2, along with pod-1, defines a new class of genes required for polarity in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. Dev. Biol. 233, 412-424.   DOI   ScienceOn
14 Wood, W. B. (1988) The Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. pp. 82-89, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, U.S.A.
15 Kurzchalia, T. V. and Ward, S. (2003) Why do worms need cholesterol? Nat. Cell Biol. 5, 684-688.   DOI   ScienceOn
16 Kage-Nakadai, E., Kobuna, H., Kimura, M., Gengyo-Ando, K., Inoue, T., Arai, H. and Mitani, S. (2010) Two very long chain fatty acid acyl-CoA synthetase genes, acs-20 and acs-22, have roles in the cuticle surface barrier in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS. One 5, e8857.   DOI   ScienceOn
17 Watts, J. L. (2009) Fat synthesis and adiposity regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Trends Endocrinol. Metab. 20, 58-65.   DOI   ScienceOn
18 McKay, S. J., Johnsen, R., Khattra, J., Asano, J., Baillie, D. L., Chan, S., Dube, N., Fang, L., Goszczynski, B., Ha, E., Halfnight, E., Hollebakken, R., Huang, P., Hung, K., Jensen, V., Jones, S. J., Kai, H., Li, D., Mah, A., Marra, M., McGhee, J., Newbury, R., Pouzyrev, A., Riddle, D. L., Sonnhammer, E., Tian, H., Tu, D., Tyson, J. R., Vatcher, G., Warner, A., Wong, K., Zhao, Z. and Moerman, D. G. (2003) Gene expression profiling of cells, tissues, and developmental stages of the nematode C. elegans. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 68, 159-169.   DOI
19 Roudier, N., Lefebvre, C. and Legouis, R. (2005) CeVPS-27 is an endosomal protein required for the molting and the endocytic trafficking of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Traffic 6, 695-705.   DOI   ScienceOn
20 Timmons, L. and Fire, A. (1998) Specific Interference by ingested dsRNA. Nature 395, 854.   DOI   ScienceOn
21 Frand, A. R., Russel, S. and Ruvkun, G. (2005) Functional genomic analysis of C. elegans molting. PLoS Biol. 3, e312.   DOI   ScienceOn
22 Thein, M. C., Winter, A. D., Stepek, G., McCormack, G., Stapleton, G., Johnstone, I. L. and Page, A. P. (2009) The combined extracellular matrix cross-linking activity of the peroxidase MLT-7 and the duox BLI-3 are critical for post-embryonic viability in Caenorhabditis elegans. J. Biol. Chem. 284, 17549-17563.   DOI   ScienceOn
23 Fritz, J. A. and Behm, C. A. (2009) CUTI-1: A novel tetraspan protein involved in C. elegans cuticle formation and epithelial integrity. PLoS One 4, e5117.   DOI   ScienceOn
24 Johnstone, I. L. (2000) Cuticle collagen genes expression in Caenorhabditis elegans. Trends. Genet. 16, 21-27.
25 Blaxter, M. L. (1993) Cuticle surface proteins of wild type and mutant Caenorhabditis\elegans. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 6600-6609.
26 Rappleye, C. A., Tagawa, A., Le, Bot. N., Ahringer, J. and Aroian, R. V. (2003) Involvement of fatty acid pathways and cortical interaction of the pronuclear complex in Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic polarity. BMC. Dev. Biol. 3, 8.   DOI   ScienceOn
27 Entchev, E. V., Schwudke, D., Zagoriy, V., Matyash, V., Bogdanova, A., Habermann, B., Zhu, L., Shevchenko, A. and Kurzchalia, T. V. (2008) LET-767 is required for the production of branched chain and long chain fatty acids in Caenorhabditis elegans. J. Biol. Chem. 283, 17550-17560.   DOI   ScienceOn
28 Winter, A. D., McCormack, G. and Page, A. P. (2007) Protein disulfide isomerase activity is essential for viability and extracellular matrix formation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev. Biol. 15, 449-461.
29 Roberts, B., Clucas, C. and Johnstone, I. L. (2003) Loss of SEC-23 in Caenorhabditis elegans causes defects in oogenesis, morphogenesis, and extracellular matrix secretion. Mol. Biol. Cell 14, 4414-4426.   DOI   ScienceOn