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Involvement of the actin cytoskeleton and homotypic membrane fusion in ER dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans

Poteryaev, D. and Squirrell, J. M. and Campbell, J. M. and White, J. G. and Spang, A.. (2005) Involvement of the actin cytoskeleton and homotypic membrane fusion in ER dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 16 (5). pp. 2139-2153.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5259750

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Abstract

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the major intracellular membrane system. The ER is essential for protein and lipid biosynthesis, transport of proteins along the secretory pathway, and calcium storage. Here, we describe our investigations into the dynamics and regulation of the ER in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. Using a GFP fusion to the ER-resident signal peptidase SP12, we observed the morphological transitions of the ER through fertilization and the early cell-cycles in living embryos. These transitions were tightly coordinated with the division cycle: upon onset of mitosis, the ER formed structured sheets that redispersed at the initiation of cleavage. Although microtubules were not required for the transition of the ER between these different states, the actin cytoskeleton facilitated the dispersal of the ER at the end of mitosis. The ER had an asymmetric distribution in the early embryo, which was dependent on the establishment of polarity by the PAR proteins. The small GTPase ARF-1 played an essential role in the ER dynamics, although this function appeared to be unrelated to the role of ARF-1 in vesicular traffic. In addition, the ER-resident heat shock protein BiP and a homologue of the AAA ATPase Cdc48/p97 were found to be crucial for the ER transitions. Both proteins have been implicated in homotypic ER membrane fusion. We provide evidence that homotypic membrane fusion is required to form the sheet structure in the early embryo.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Growth & Development > Biochemistry (Spang)
UniBasel Contributors:Spang, Anne
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:American Society for Cell Biology
ISSN:1059-1524
e-ISSN:1939-4586
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Identification Number:
edoc DOI:
Last Modified:07 Nov 2017 11:13
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:23

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