Reports

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

Noah Jenkins,^* Jennifer R. Saam,^* Susan E. Mango

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.

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

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RhoA/Rho Kinase Signaling in the Cumulus Mediates Extracellular Matrix Assembly.

R. Yodoi, S. Tamba, K. Morimoto, E. Segi-Nishida, M. Nishihara, A. Ichikawa, S. Narumiya, and Y. Sugimoto (2009)
Endocrinology 150, 3345-3352
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MSP and GLP-1/Notch signaling coordinately regulate actomyosin-dependent cytoplasmic streaming and oocyte growth in C. elegans.

S. Nadarajan, J. A. Govindan, M. McGovern, E. J. A. Hubbard, and D. Greenstein (2009)
Development 136, 2223-2234
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Regulation of the Rac GTPase pathway by the multifunctional Rho GEF Pebble is essential for mesoderm migration in the Drosophila gastrula.

A. van Impel, S. Schumacher, M. Draga, H.-M. Herz, J. Grosshans, and H. A. J. Muller (2009)
Development 136, 813-822
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Polarization of the C. elegans Embryo by RhoGAP-Mediated Exclusion of PAR-6 from Cell Contacts.

D. C. Anderson, J. S. Gill, R. M. Cinalli, and J. Nance (2008)
Science 320, 1771-1774
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Cytokinetic furrowing in toroidal, binucleate and anucleate cells in C. elegans embryos.

J. K. Baruni, E. M. Munro, and G. von Dassow (2008)
J. Cell Sci. 121, 306-316
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Revisiting the role of microtubules in C. elegans polarity.

F. Motegi and G. Seydoux (2007)
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)
PNAS 104, 14976-14981
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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)
Development 133, 4281-4292
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