Control of organ shape by a secreted metalloprotease in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
The molecular controls governing organ shape are poorly understood. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the gonad acquires a U-shape by the directed migration of a specialized 'leader' cell, which is located at the tip of the growing gonadal 'arm'. The gon-1 gene is essential for gonadal morphogenesis: in gon-1 mutants, no arm elongation occurs and somatic gonadal structures are severely malformed. Here we report that gon-1 encodes a secreted protein with a metalloprotease domain and multiple thrombospondin type-1-like repeats. This motif architecture is typical of a small family of genes that include bovine procollagen I N-protease (P1NP), which cleaves collagen, and murine ADAMTS-1, the expression of which correlates with tumour cell progression. We find that gon-1 is expressed in two sites, leader cells and muscle, and that expression in each site has a unique role in forming the gonad. We speculate that GON-1 controls morphogenesis by remodelling basement membranes and that regulation of its activity is crucial for achieving organ shape.
Blelloch
R
R
Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706, USA.
Kimble
J
J
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D006066:Gonads / Q000196:embryology; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019700:Thrombospondin 1 / Q000737:chemistry; D019076:Transgenes
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D019700:Thrombospondin 1; C119674:GON-1 protein, C elegans; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases