Asymmetric distribution of actin-related proteins in the early C. elegans embryo

To achieve a stereotypic lineage, each embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans follows an invariant cell differentiation process arising from a combination of cell polarisation, asymmetric or symmetric divisions, combined with intercellular signalling processes. This pattern of embryonic cell differentiation is driven by regulated segregation of molecules occurring at each cell division, including polarity proteins or cell fate determinants, transcription factors, p-granules and mRNAs. These distribution patterns are coupled with a robust spatio-temporal orchestration of cortical actin dynamics, which also plays a crucial role in these processes. However, compared to other molecular contents, how the actin per se is segregated from the first asymmetric division onward remains poorly understood. This study presents a thorough quantification of the intracellular distribution from the zygote to the 4-cell stage of key actors related to actin polymerisation: two nucleators (a formin and the Arp2/3 complex), a capping protein and E-cadherin. We additionally developed a novel method to assess actin polymerisation capacities from single blastomere extracts. We found that actin-related signatures arise at these early stages and that differential mechanisms of protein segregation and homeostasis occur, depending both on the cell pair and on the protein considered. Notably, if asymmetric divisions correlated with unequal partitioning of actin-related contents in a process linked with embryonic polarity, differences were revealed between AB daughter cells upon their separation. Taken together, these actin-related asymmetric distributions are adding a layer to the complexity of cell fate acquisition mechanisms in the early embryo.