Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Cell fusion: EFF is enough.

Kenji Kontani1, Joel H Rothman

  • 1Department of MCD Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.

Current Biology : CB
|April 13, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Evidence that local viscosity and NOX-dependent ROS increases render the tardigrade H. exemplaris resilient to extreme physical force.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

S-acylation and membrane localization of the small GTPase ARL15 are mediated by the Golgi S-acyltransferases ZDHHC7 and ZDHHC3.

The Journal of biological chemistry·2026
Same author

Multimodal sensory inputs and mechanosensory components mediate <i>C. elegans</i> negative gravitaxis.

iScience·2025
Same author

Quantifying small GTPase activation status using a novel fluorescence HPLC-based assay.

The Journal of biological chemistry·2025
Same author

Single-Animal, Single-Tube RNA Extraction for Comparison of Relative Transcript Levels via qRT-PCR in the Tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE·2025
Same author

Calmodulin enhances mTORC1 signaling by preventing TSC2-Rheb binding.

The Journal of biological chemistry·2024
Same journal

Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Sub-second fluctuations between top-down and bottom-up modes distinguish diverse human brain states.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Queen bees offload pesticide burden to eggs when social buffering is overwhelmed.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Pitch selectivity in ferret auditory cortex.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

A cell size-dependent competition between geometry and polarity governs nuclear and spindle positioning in early embryos.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Trophic cascades drive sustainability in the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

Current biology : CB·2026
See all related articles

The EFF-1 protein is essential for cell fusion during development in Caenorhabditis elegans. This protein can induce fusion even in cells that do not normally fuse, acting directly at the membrane.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Cell-cell fusion is a fundamental biological process crucial for development and tissue formation.
  • Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing cell fusion is vital for various biological and medical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the EFF-1 protein in Caenorhabditis elegans development-programmed cell-cell fusion.
  • To determine if EFF-1 is sufficient to induce fusion in non-fusing cells.
  • To elucidate the localization and function of EFF-1 in the fusion process.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized genetic analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans to study cell fusion.
  • Investigated the function of the EFF-1 protein in developmental cell fusion.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Examined the localization of EFF-1 within fusion-fated cell membranes.

    • Main Results:

    • The EFF-1 protein is required for developmentally programmed cell-cell fusion in Caenorhabditis elegans.
    • EFF-1 is sufficient to induce fusion in cells that do not normally undergo fusion.
    • EFF-1 localizes to the membranes of cells fated for fusion, suggesting a direct fusogenic role.

    Conclusions:

    • EFF-1 acts as a direct fusogen, playing a critical role in initiating and executing cell-cell fusion during development.
    • The discovery of EFF-1's sufficiency provides a powerful tool for studying cell fusion mechanisms and potentially engineering fusion in other contexts.