Cortical granule exocytosis in C. elegans is regulated by cell cycle components including separase.

ABSTRACT: In many organisms, cortical granules undergo exocytosis following fertilization, releasing cargo proteins that modify the extracellular covering of the zygote. We identified cortical granules in Caenorhabditis elegans and have found that degranulation occurs in a wave that initiates in the vicinity of the meiotic spindle during anaphase I. Previous studies identified genes that confer an embryonic osmotic sensitivity phenotype, thought to result from abnormal eggshell formation. Many of these genes are components of the cell cycle machinery. When we suppressed expression of several of these genes by RNAi, we observed that cortical granule trafficking was disrupted and the eggshell did not form properly. We conclude that osmotic sensitivity phenotypes occur because of defects in trafficking

SUBMITTER: Bembenek JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5507579 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature