斑马鱼fem-1c cDNA克隆与表达分析

为进一步探究鱼类性别决定的相关机理, 增加对鱼类性控基因表达和功能的认识, 克隆斑马鱼fem-1c 基因并对其进行表达分析。研究采用RACE-PCR方法从斑马鱼卵巢组织cDNA中克隆了fem-1c的cDNA全长序列, 其大小为2701 bp, 编码618个氨基酸。生物信息学分析显示, 斑马鱼FEM-1C蛋白包含9个ANK结构域、2个TPR结构域和2个低复杂性区域, 与其他脊椎动物的FEM-1C蛋白序列保守性较高。脊椎动物的fem-1c与tmed7、trim36等邻近的45个基因具有保守的同线性关系。半定量RT-PCR实验结果显示斑马鱼fem-1c在受精后17d开始表达, 并特异地表达于成体卵巢组织中。RNA原位杂交结果显示, fem-1c基因mRNA定位于卵巢组织的Ⅰ期和Ⅱ期卵母细胞胞质中。fem-1c的时空表达特征暗示其在斑马鱼卵巢分化中具有重要作用。       

Embryonic morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans integrates the activity of LET-502 Rho-binding kinase, MEL-11 myosin phosphatase, DAF-2 insulin receptor and FEM-2 PP2c phosphatase

let-502 rho-binding kinase and mel-11 myosin phosphatase regulate Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic morphogenesis. Genetic analysis presented here establishes the following modes of let-502 action: (i) loss of only maternal let-502 results in abnormal early cleavages, (ii) loss of both zygotic and maternal let-502 causes elongation defects, and (iii) loss of only zygotic let-502 results in sterility. The morphogenetic function of let-502 and mel-11 is apparently redundant with another pathway since elimination of these two genes resulted in progeny that underwent near-normal elongation. Triple mutant analysis indicated that unc-73 (Rho/Rac guanine exchange factor) and mlc-4 (myosin light chain) act in parallel to or downstream of let-502/mel-11. In contrast mig-2 (Rho/Rac), daf-2 (insulin receptor), and age-1 (PI3 kinase) act within the let-502/mel-11 pathway. Mutations in the sex-determination gene fem-2, which encodes a PP2c phosphatase (unrelated to the MEL-11 phosphatase), enhanced mutations of let-502 and suppressed those of mel-11. fem-2's elongation function appears to be independent of its role in sexual identity since the sex-determination genes fem-1, fem-3, tra-1, and tra-3 had no effect on mel-11 or let-502. By itself, fem-2 affects morphogenesis with low penetrance. fem-2 blocked the near-normal elongation of let-502; mel-11 indicating that fem-2 acts in a parallel elongation pathway. The action of two redundant pathways likely ensures accurate elongation of the C. elegans embryo.     

Genetic flexibility in the convergent evolution of hermaphroditism in Caenorhabditis nematodes

The self-fertile hermaphrodites of C. elegans and C. briggsae evolved from female ancestors by acquiring limited spermatogenesis. Initiation of C. elegans hermaphrodite spermatogenesis requires germline translational repression of the female-promoting gene tra-2, which allows derepression of the three male-promoting fem genes. Cessation of hermaphrodite spermatogenesis requires fem-3 translational repression. We show that C. briggsae requires neither fem-2 nor fem-3 for hermaphrodite development, and that XO Cb-fem-2/3 animals are transformed into hermaphrodites, not females as in C. elegans. Exhaustive screens for Cb-tra-2 suppressors identified another 75 fem-like mutants, but all are self-fertile hermaphrodites rather than females. Control of hermaphrodite spermatogenesis therefore acts downstream of the fem genes in C. briggsae. The outwardly similar hermaphrodites of C. elegans and C. briggsae thus achieve self-fertility via intervention at different points in the core sex determination pathway. These findings are consistent with convergent evolution of hermaphroditism, which is marked by considerable developmental genetic flexibility.     

mag-1, a homolog of Drosophila mago nashi, regulates hermaphrodite germ-line sex determination in Caenorhabditis elegans

The Caenorhabditis elegans gene mag-1 can substitute functionally for its homolog mago nashi in Drosophila and is predicted to encode a protein that exhibits 80% identity and 88% similarity to Mago nashi (P. A. Newmark et al., 1997, Development 120, 3197-3207). We have used RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) to analyze the phenotypic consequences of impairing mag-1 function in C. elegans. We show here that mag-1(RNAi) causes masculinization of the germ line (Mog phenotype) in RNA-injected hermaphrodites, suggesting that mag-1 is involved in hermaphrodite germ-line sex determination. Epistasis analysis shows that ectopic sperm production caused by mag-1(RNAi) is prevented by loss-of-function (lf) mutations in fog-2, gld-1, fem-1, fem-2, fem-3, and fog-1, all of which cause germ-line feminization in XX hermaphrodites, but not by a her-1(lf) mutation which causes germ-line feminization only in XO males. These results suggest that mag-1 interacts with the fog, fem, and gld genes and acts independently of her-1. We propose that mag-1 normally allows oogenesis by inhibiting function of one or more of these masculinizing genes, which act during the fourth larval stage to promote transient sperm production in the hermaphrodite germ line. When the Mog phenotype is suppressed by a fog-2(lf) mutation, mag-1(RNAi) also causes lethality in the progeny embryos of RNA-injected, mated hermaphrodites, suggesting an essential role for mag-1 during embryogenesis. The defective embryos arrest during morphogenesis with an apparent elongation defect. The distribution pattern of a JAM-1::GFP reporter, which is localized to boundaries of hypodermal cells, shows that hypodermis is disorganized in these embryos. The temporal expression pattern of the mag-1 gene prior to and during morphogenesis appears to be consistent with an essential role of mag-1 in embryonic hypodermal organization and elongation.     

GLD-3, a bicaudal-C homolog that inhibits FBF to control germline sex determination in C. elegans

The FBF RNA binding proteins control multiple aspects of C. elegans germline development, including sex determination. FBF promotes the oocyte fate at the expense of spermatogenesis by binding a regulatory element in the fem-3 3'UTR and repressing this sex-determining gene. Here we report the discovery of GLD-3, a Bicaudal-C homolog and cytoplasmic protein that physically interacts with FBF. Using RNAi and a gld-3 deletion mutant, we show that GLD-3 promotes the sperm fate, a sex determination effect opposite to that of FBF. By epistasis analysis, GLD-3 acts upstream of FBF, and, in a yeast three-hybrid assay, GLD-3 interferes specifically with FBF binding to the fem-3 3'UTR. We propose that GLD-3 binds FBF and thereby inhibits its repression of target mRNAs.     

The Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determining protein FEM-2 and its human homologue, hFEM-2, are Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase phosphatases that promote apoptosis

In Caenorhabditis elegans, fem-1, fem-2, and fem-3 play pivotal roles in sex determination. Recently, a mammalian homologue of the C. elegans sex-determining protein FEM-1, F1Aalpha, has been described. Although there is little evidence to link F1Aalpha to sex determination, F1Aalpha and FEM-1 both promote apoptosis in mammalian cells. Here we report the identification and characterization of a human homologue of the C. elegans sex-determining protein FEM-2, hFEM-2. Similar to FEM-2, hFEM-2 exhibited PP2C phosphatase activity and associated with FEM-3. hFEM-2 shows striking similarity (79% amino acid identity) to rat Ca(2+)/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase phosphatase (rCaMKPase). hFEM-2 and FEM-2, but not PP2Calpha, were demonstrated to dephosphorylate CaM kinase II efficiently in vitro, suggesting that hFEM-2 and FEM-2 are specific phosphatases for CaM kinase. Furthermore, hFEM-2 and FEM-2 associated with F1Aalpha and FEM-1 respectively. Overexpression of hFEM-2, FEM-2, or rCaMKPase all mediated apoptosis in mammalian cells. The catalytically active, but not the inactive, forms of hFEM-2 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis, which was blocked by Bcl-XL or a dominant negative mutant of caspase-9. Taken together, our data suggest that hFEM-2 and rCaMKPase are mammalian homologues of FEM-2 and they are evolutionarily conserved CaM kinase phosphatases that may have a role in apoptosis signaling.     

Use of a psoralen-induced phenocopy to study genes controlling spermatogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, spermatogenesis represents one of two alternative developmental pathways open to premeiotic germ cells. At least two genes, fem-1 and fem-2, control the initiation of spermatogenesis in XX (hermaphrodite) worms, and the entire spectrum of male differentiation in XO animals. Low-dose irradiation of worms treated with the light-activated DNA crosslinking drug trimethylpsoralen, at levels that do not affect cell division or growth rates, blocks spermatogenesis in C. elegans hermaphrodites and produces an identical phenotype to that of temperature-sensitive mutations in the fem genes. Psoralen treatment does not, however, produce corresponding phenotypes of these mutants in XO animals. The developmental age for phenocopy production is the same as the hermaphrodite temperature-sensitive period of the two mutants. The effects of pulses of restrictive temperature and psoralen treatment on fem-2 mutant hermaphrodites are additive, suggesting that psoralen crosslinking may reduce the level of the fem-2 gene product. Microbeam experiments localize the target for the psoralen effect to the primary germ cells in the first stage larvae, indicating that a critical step occurs in a small number of precursor cells prior to their commitment to spermatogenesis.     

Rapid coevolution of the nematode sex-determining genes fem-3 and tra-2

Unlike many features of metazoan development, sex determination is not widely conserved among phyla. However, the recent demonstration that one gene family controls sexual development in Drosophila, C. elegans, and vertebrates suggests that sex determination mechanisms may have evolved from a common pathway that has diverged radically since the Cambrian. Sex determination gene sequences often evolve quickly, but it is not known how this relates to higher-order pathways or what selective or neutral forces are driving it. In such a rapidly evolving developmental pathway, the fate of functionally linked genes is of particular interest. To investigate a pair of such genes, we cloned orthologs of the key C. elegans male-promoting gene fem-3 from two sister species, C. briggsae and C. remanei. We employed RNA interference to show that in all three species, the male-promoting function of fem-3 and its epistatic relationship with its female-promoting upstream repressor, tra-2, are conserved. Consistent with this, the FEM-3 protein interacts with TRA-2 in each species, but in a strictly species-specific manner. Because FEM-3 is the most divergent protein yet described in Caenorhabditis and the FEM-3 binding domain of TRA-2 is itself hypervariable, a key protein-protein interaction is rapidly evolving in concert. Extrapolation of this result to larger phylogenetic scales helps explain the dissimilarity of the sex determination systems across phyla.     

东亚飞蝗fem-1基因的克隆与表达分析

秀丽隐杆线虫Caenorhabditis elegans fem-1基因是性别决定的关键基因。本研究基于生物信息学方法从东亚飞蝗Locusta migratoria manilensis的转录组数据库中克隆出了线虫fem-1的3个同源基因, 将其分别命名为Lmfem-1a, Lmfem-1b和Lmfem-1c (GenBank登录号分别为AB698670, AB698671和AB698672)。其cDNA序列长度分别为2 233, 2 625和2 142 bp, 分别编码662, 642和638个氨基酸。生物信息学分析显示, Lmfem-1a, Lmfem-1b和Lmfem-1c分别含有6, 8和8个典型的锚蛋白重复序列模体。组织表达谱分析发现, Lmfem-1a, Lmfem-1b和Lmfem-1c基因在检测的所有组织中都有表达, 但均在精巢中的表达水平最高, 说明Lmfem-1a, Lmfem-1b和Lmfem-1c基因可能参与东亚飞蝗的多种生理过程, 并受到严格的表达调控。而且, 随着精巢的发育, Lmfem-1a, Lmfem-1b和Lmfem-1c的表达均逐渐增强, 可能与东亚飞蝗的精子形成有关, 但这3个基因是否参与东亚飞蝗的性别决定还有待进一步研究。