A sperm-supplied product essential for initiation of normal embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans is encoded by the paternal-effect embryonic-lethal gene, spe-11.
Loss-of-function mutations in the spe-11 gene in Caenorhabditis elegans result in a paternal-effect embryonic-lethal phenotype: fertilization of wild-type oocytes by sperm from homozygous spe-11 mutant males leads to abnormal zygotic development, whereas oocytes from homozygous spe-11 hermaphrodites when fertilized by wild-type sperm develop normally. Embryos fertilized by sperm from homozygous spe-11 worms fail to complete meiosis and show defects in eggshell formation, mitotic spindle orientation, and cytokinesis. Genetic analysis suggests that the spe-11 gene is expressed before the completion of spermatogenesis and that the wild-type locus encodes a product that is present in sperm and participates, directly or indirectly, in initiating the correct program of early events in C. elegans embryos. Such an ontogenetic role of the spe-11+ gene product in early embryogenesis distinguishes spe-11 mutations from the two paternal-effect mutations identified in Drosophila, ms(3)K81 and pal, which primarily affect chromosome behavior. Analysis of spe-11 provides the first step toward genetic dissection of the functions of the sperm in early embryogenesis in C. elegans.
Hill
D P
DP
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.
Shakes
D C
DC
Ward
S
S
Strome
S
S
D000818:Animals; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D002455:Cell Division; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000502:physiology; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology; D005804:Genes, Lethal / Q000502:physiology*; D006720:Homozygote; D008297:Male; D008540:Meiosis; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000502:physiology; D015053:Zygote / Q000502:physiology