Recent Publications
Occasionally updated, please see Google Scholar for a complete list.
An integrin binding motif in TLN-1/talin plays a minor role in motility and ovulation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9850256/
TLN-1/talin is a conserved focal adhesion protein that forms part of the linkage between the cytoplasmic tail of integrin and the actin cytoskeleton. In C. elegans , TLN-1 is expressed strongly in striated muscle and the gonadal sheath cells. Here, we report that a CRISPR-generated TLN-1 allele TLN-1(W387A), predicted to affect binding of talin to integrins, results in mild phenotypes, including motility defects and ovulation defects. The arrangement of the actin cytoskeleton in the body wall muscles, spermatheca, and sheath appears identical in wild type and TLN-1(W387A) animals. This analysis suggests that W387 in TLN-1 does not have a major effect on the binding of talin to integrin in vivo.
Tension-dependent RHGF-1 recruitment to stress fibers drives robust spermathecal tissue contraction
https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202203105
A RHO-1 GEF drives contraction in the worm’s reproductive system.
Functional Insights into Protein Kinase A (PKA) Signaling from C. elegans
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36431013/
Protein kinase A (PKA), which regulates a diverse set of biological functions downstream of cyclic AMP (cAMP), is a tetramer consisting of two catalytic subunits (PKA-C) and two regulatory subunits (PKA-R). When cAMP binds the PKA-R subunits, the PKA-C subunits are released and interact with downstream effectors. In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), PKA-C and PKA-R are encoded by kin-1 and kin-2, respectively. This review focuses on the contributions of work in C. elegans to our understanding of the many roles of PKA, including contractility and oocyte maturation in the reproductive system, lipid metabolism, physiology, mitochondrial function and lifespan, and a wide variety of behaviors. C. elegans provides a powerful genetic platform for understanding how this kinase can regulate an astounding variety of physiological responses.
Worm development: Push not pull in gonad morphogenesis
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222013690
How does tissue elongation occur?
ZYX-1/Zyxin plays a minor role in oocyte transit through the spermatheca in C. elegans
https://www.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000489
ZYX-1/Zyxin may regulate spermathecal contraction magnitude or timing of spermathecal bag contraction and/or spermathecal-uterine valve dilation.
FLN-1/filamin is required to anchor the actomyosin cytoskeleton and for global organization of sub-cellular organelles in a contractile tissue
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32969593/
Filamin is essential for cellular organization.
Gα/GSA-1 works upstream of PKA/KIN-1 to regulate calcium signaling and contractility in the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008644
The G-protein GSA-1 functions with protein kinase A to regulate calcium release, and contraction of the spermatheca.
The RhoGAP SPV-1 regulates calcium signaling to control the contractility of the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca during embryo transits
https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E18-10-0633
SPV-1 works through both the Rho-ROCK and calcium signaling pathways to coordinate cellular contractility.