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Originally published in Science Express on 27 July 2006
Science 1 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5791, pp. 1298 - 1301
DOI: 10.1126/science.1130291
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Reports

CYK-4/GAP Provides a Localized Cue to Initiate Anteroposterior Polarity upon Fertilization

Noah Jenkins,* Jennifer R. Saam,* Susan E. Mango{ddagger}

The Caenorhabditis elegans anteroposterior axis is established in response to fertilization by sperm. Here we present evidence that RhoA, the guanine nucleotide–exchange factor ECT-2, and the Rho guanosine triphosphatase–activating protein CYK-4 modulate myosin light-chain activity to create a gradient of actomyosin, which establishes the anterior domain. CYK-4 is enriched within sperm, and paternally donated CYK-4 is required for polarity. These data suggest that CYK-4 provides a molecular link between fertilization and polarity establishment in the one-cell embryo. Orthologs of CYK-4 are expressed in sperm of other species, which suggests that this cue may be evolutionarily conserved.

Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: susan.mango{at}hci.utah.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Polarization of the C. elegans Embryo by RhoGAP-Mediated Exclusion of PAR-6 from Cell Contacts.
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J. K. Baruni, E. M. Munro, and G. von Dassow (2008)
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Revisiting the role of microtubules in C. elegans polarity.
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J. Cell Biol. 179, 367-369
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Functions of the novel RhoGAP proteins RGA-3 and RGA-4 in the germ line and in the early embryo of C. elegans.
C. Schmutz, J. Stevens, and A. Spang (2007)
Development 134, 3495-3505
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The Rho GTPase-activating proteins RGA-3 and RGA-4 are required to set the initial size of PAR domains in Caenorhabditis elegans one-cell embryos.
S. Schonegg, A. T. Constantinescu, C. Hoege, and A. A. Hyman (2007)
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Acto-myosin reorganization and PAR polarity in C. elegans.
C. R. Cowan and A. A. Hyman (2007)
Development 134, 1035-1043
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Microtubule-induced cortical cell polarity.
S. E. Siegrist and C. Q. Doe (2007)
Genes & Dev. 21, 483-496
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The puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase PAM-1 is required for meiotic exit and anteroposterior polarity in the one-cell Caenorhabditis elegans embryo.
R. Lyczak, L. Zweier, T. Group, M. A. Murrow, C. Snyder, L. Kulovitz, A. Beatty, K. Smith, and B. Bowerman (2006)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)