The DPY-14 cuticle collagen regulates left-right asymmetric neuronal migration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Nervous systems of bilaterally-symmetric animals display left-right asymmetries in development. In Caenorhabditis elegans , the Q neuroblasts display left-right asymmetry of migration, with QR on the right migrating anteriorly and QL on the left migrating posteriorly. Previous worked showed that a group of transmembrane receptor molecules including UNC-40 /DCC and PTP-3 /LAR control direction of initial Q migration. However, no classical secreted paracrine growth factor has been identified. Previous work showed that molecules in the extracellular matrix are involved, including UNC-52 /Perlecan and the cuticle collagens DPY-17 and SQT-3 . This report shows that the cuticle collagen DPY-14 is also involved, and genetically acts with DPY-17 and SQT-3 , possibly in a collagen trimer. DPY-14 might be a component of an inherent left-right chirality in the extracellular matrix that directs left-right asymmetric Q neuroblast migration.