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Coupled oscillators coordinate collective germline growth.
Caroline A Doherty1, Rocky Diegmiller2, Manisha Kapasiawala2
1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Lewis-Sigler Institute of Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
Developmental Cell
|March 10, 2021
Summary
The oocyte regulates germline cyst growth by communicating with nurse cells. This bidirectional communication, involving Dacapo protein, controls cell cycles and nutrient loading into the oocyte.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cell biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Developing oocytes require substantial macromolecules and organelles.
- Germline nurse cells are essential for accumulating these resources, growing over 100-fold in Drosophila.
- The mechanism coordinating collective nurse cell growth remained unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanism of coordinated germline cyst growth.
- To identify the role of oocyte-nurse cell communication in regulating growth.
- To understand how maternal resources are regulated for oocyte development.
Main Methods:
- Investigated cell cycle regulation in Drosophila germline cysts.
- Analyzed the localization and movement of Dacapo transcripts and proteins.
- Studied the communication network between oocytes and nurse cells.
Main Results:
- Identified a novel cell cycle-regulating mechanism dependent on oocyte-nurse cell communication.
- Demonstrated that Dacapo transcripts move from nurse cells to the oocyte.
- Showed that oocyte-synthesized Dacapo protein moves retrogradely to nurse cells, creating coupled oscillators.
- Established that this network controls nurse cell cycle and cyst growth.
Conclusions:
- The oocyte is a critical regulator of germline cyst growth through bidirectional communication.
- Bidirectional communication involving Dacapo establishes a growth-sensing feedback loop.
- This mechanism regulates the quantity of maternal resources loaded into the oocyte.
Keywords:
DacapoDrosophila oogenesiscoupled oscillatorscyclin Eendoreplicationgermline cystnonlinear dynamicsMore Related Videos
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