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Published on: October 31, 2016
PAR-1 is required for the maintenance of oocyte fate in Drosophila
J R Huynh1, J M Shulman, R Benton
1The Wellcome/CRC Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Rd, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK.
Insights
The PAR-1 kinase is crucial for selecting the oocyte and maintaining its identity during oogenesis in Drosophila. It ensures proper localization of germline determinants and microtubule organization, linking fusome asymmetry to oocyte selection.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- PAR-1 kinase is known to regulate posterior localization of germline determinants in C. elegans and Drosophila zygotes.
- Its role in early oogenesis, specifically in oocyte determination, has not been fully elucidated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of Drosophila PAR-1 in the early stages of oogenesis, particularly in the selection and maintenance of the oocyte.
- To understand PAR-1's role in intracellular localization events within the oocyte.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Drosophila oogenesis using mutant clones lacking PAR-1.
- Examination of molecular markers for oocyte identity (synaptonemal complex, centrosomes, Orb protein).
- Tracking of microtubule organization and localization of specific proteins within the germarium and oocyte.
Main Results:
- Drosophila PAR-1 is essential for the selection of a single oocyte from a germline cyst.
- While initial oocyte identity markers are established, PAR-1 is required for their posterior translocation within the presumptive oocyte.
- PAR-1 is necessary for the correct localization of microtubule minus ends and prevents nurse cell fate entry.
- PAR-1 localizes to the fusome, connecting fusome asymmetry to oocyte selection.
Conclusions:
- PAR-1 kinase plays a critical role in both the initial selection and the subsequent maintenance of oocyte identity during Drosophila oogenesis.
- PAR-1 regulates microtubule-dependent localization events within the oocyte at multiple stages.
- PAR-1 acts as a molecular link between fusome asymmetry and the process of oocyte determination.
Abstract:
The PAR-1 kinase is required for the posterior localisation of the germline determinants in C. elegans and Drosophila, and localises to the posterior of the zygote and the oocyte in each case. We show that Drosophila PAR-1 is also required much earlier in oogenesis for the selection of one cell in a germline cyst to become the oocyte. Although the initial steps in oocyte determination are delayed, three markers for oocyte identity, the synaptonemal complex, the centrosomes and Orb protein, still become restricted to one cell in mutant clones. However, the centrosomes and Orb protein fail to translocate from the anterior to the posterior cortex of the presumptive oocyte in region 3 of the germarium, and the cell exits meiosis and becomes a nurse cell. Furthermore, markers for the minus ends of the microtubules also fail to move from the anterior to the posterior of the oocyte in mutant clones. Thus, PAR-1 is required for the maintenance of oocyte identity, and plays a role in microtubule-dependent localisation within the oocyte at two stages of oogenesis. Finally, we show that PAR-1 localises on the fusome, and provides a link between the asymmetry of the fusome and the selection of the oocyte.
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