1
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Peluffo RD, Hernández JA. The Na +,K +-ATPase and its stoichiometric ratio: some thermodynamic speculations. Biophys Rev 2023; 15:539-552. [PMID: 37681108 PMCID: PMC10480117 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-023-01082-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Almost seventy years after its discovery, the sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase (the sodium pump) located in the cell plasma membrane remains a source of novel mechanistic and physiologic findings. A noteworthy feature of this enzyme/transporter is its robust stoichiometric ratio under physiological conditions: it sequentially counter-transports three sodium ions and two potassium ions against their electrochemical potential gradients per each hydrolyzed ATP molecule. Here we summarize some present knowledge about the sodium pump and its physiological roles, and speculate whether energetic constraints may have played a role in the evolutionary selection of its characteristic stoichiometric ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Daniel Peluffo
- Group of Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, CENUR Litoral Norte, Universidad de La República, Rivera 1350, CP: 50000 Salto, Uruguay
| | - Julio A. Hernández
- Biophysics and Systems Biology Section, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La República, Iguá 4225, CP: 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay
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2
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McCartney B, Dudin O. Cellularization across eukaryotes: Conserved mechanisms and novel strategies. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2023; 80:102157. [PMID: 36857882 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
Many eukaryotes form multinucleated cells during their development. Some cells persist as such during their lifetime, others choose to cleave each nucleus individually using a specialized cytokinetic process known as cellularization. What is cellularization and how is it achieved across the eukaryotic tree of life? Are there common pathways among all species supporting a shared ancestry, or are there key differences, suggesting independent evolutionary paths? In this review, we discuss common strategies and key mechanistic differences in how cellularization is executed across vastly divergent eukaryotic species. We present a number of novel methods and non-model organisms that may provide important insight into the evolutionary origins of cellularization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke McCartney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Omaya Dudin
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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3
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Deshpande O, de-Carvalho J, Vieira DV, Telley IA. Astral microtubule cross-linking safeguards uniform nuclear distribution in the Drosophila syncytium. J Cell Biol 2022; 221:212810. [PMID: 34766978 PMCID: PMC8594625 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202007209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The early insect embryo develops as a multinucleated cell distributing the genome uniformly to the cell cortex. Mechanistic insight for nuclear positioning beyond cytoskeletal requirements is missing. Contemporary hypotheses propose actomyosin-driven cytoplasmic movement transporting nuclei or repulsion of neighbor nuclei driven by microtubule motors. Here, we show that microtubule cross-linking by Feo and Klp3A is essential for nuclear distribution and internuclear distance maintenance in Drosophila. Germline knockdown causes irregular, less-dense nuclear delivery to the cell cortex and smaller distribution in ex vivo embryo explants. A minimal internuclear distance is maintained in explants from control embryos but not from Feo-inhibited embryos, following micromanipulation-assisted repositioning. A dimerization-deficient Feo abolishes nuclear separation in embryo explants, while the full-length protein rescues the genetic knockdown. We conclude that Feo and Klp3A cross-linking of antiparallel microtubule overlap generates a length-regulated mechanical link between neighboring microtubule asters. Enabled by a novel experimental approach, our study illuminates an essential process of embryonic multicellularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ojas Deshpande
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Jorge de-Carvalho
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Diana V Vieira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ivo A Telley
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Oeiras, Portugal
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4
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5
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Mathavarajah S, VanIderstine C, Dellaire G, Huber RJ. Cancer and the breakdown of multicellularity: What Dictyostelium discoideum, a social amoeba, can teach us. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2000156. [PMID: 33448043 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Ancient pathways promoting unicellularity and multicellularity are associated with cancer, the former being pro-oncogenic and the latter acting to suppress oncogenesis. However, there are only a limited number of non-vertebrate models for studying these pathways. Here, we review Dictyostelium discoideum and describe how it can be used to understand these gene networks. D. discoideum has a unicellular and multicellular life cycle, making it possible to study orthologs of cancer-associated genes in both phases. During development, differentiated amoebae form a fruiting body composed of a mass of spores that are supported atop a stalk. A portion of the cells sacrifice themselves to become non-reproductive stalk cells. Cheating disrupts the principles of multicellularity, as cheater cells alter their cell fate to preferentially become spores. Importantly, D. discoideum has gene networks and several strategies for maintaining multicellularity. Therefore, D. discoideum can help us better understand how conserved genes and pathways involved in multicellularity also influence cancer development, potentially identifying new therapeutic avenues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabateeshan Mathavarajah
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Carter VanIderstine
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Graham Dellaire
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Robert J Huber
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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6
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Arias Del Angel JA, Nanjundiah V, Benítez M, Newman SA. Interplay of mesoscale physics and agent-like behaviors in the parallel evolution of aggregative multicellularity. EvoDevo 2020; 11:21. [PMID: 33062243 PMCID: PMC7549232 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-020-00165-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Myxobacteria and dictyostelids are prokaryotic and eukaryotic multicellular lineages, respectively, that after nutrient depletion aggregate and develop into structures called fruiting bodies. The developmental processes and resulting morphological outcomes resemble one another to a remarkable extent despite their independent origins, the evolutionary distance between them and the lack of traceable homology in molecular mechanisms. We hypothesize that the morphological parallelism between the two lineages arises as the consequence of the interplay within multicellular aggregates between generic processes, physical and physicochemical processes operating similarly in living and non-living matter at the mesoscale (~10-3-10-1 m) and agent-like behaviors, unique to living systems and characteristic of the constituent cells, considered as autonomous entities acting according to internal rules in a shared environment. Here, we analyze the contributions of generic and agent-like determinants in myxobacteria and dictyostelid development and their roles in the generation of their common traits. Consequent to aggregation, collective cell-cell contacts mediate the emergence of liquid-like properties, making nascent multicellular masses subject to novel patterning and morphogenetic processes. In both lineages, this leads to behaviors such as streaming, rippling, and rounding-up, as seen in non-living fluids. Later the aggregates solidify, leading them to exhibit additional generic properties and motifs. Computational models suggest that the morphological phenotypes of the multicellular masses deviate from the predictions of generic physics due to the contribution of agent-like behaviors of cells such as directed migration, quiescence, and oscillatory signal transduction mediated by responses to external cues. These employ signaling mechanisms that reflect the evolutionary histories of the respective organisms. We propose that the similar developmental trajectories of myxobacteria and dictyostelids are more due to shared generic physical processes in coordination with analogous agent-type behaviors than to convergent evolution under parallel selection regimes. Insights from the biology of these aggregative forms may enable a unified understanding of developmental evolution, including that of animals and plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan A Arias Del Angel
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de La Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de La Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.,Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595 USA.,Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Mariana Benítez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de La Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.,Centro de Ciencias de La Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Stuart A Newman
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595 USA
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7
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Medina EM, Robinson KA, Bellingham-Johnstun K, Ianiri G, Laplante C, Fritz-Laylin LK, Buchler NE. Genetic transformation of Spizellomyces punctatus, a resource for studying chytrid biology and evolutionary cell biology. eLife 2020; 9:52741. [PMID: 32392127 PMCID: PMC7213984 DOI: 10.7554/elife.52741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Chytrids are early-diverging fungi that share features with animals that have been lost in most other fungi. They hold promise as a system to study fungal and animal evolution, but we lack genetic tools for hypothesis testing. Here, we generated transgenic lines of the chytrid Spizellomyces punctatus, and used fluorescence microscopy to explore chytrid cell biology and development during its life cycle. We show that the chytrid undergoes multiple rounds of synchronous nuclear division, followed by cellularization, to create and release many daughter ‘zoospores’. The zoospores, akin to animal cells, crawl using actin-mediated cell migration. After forming a cell wall, polymerized actin reorganizes into fungal-like cortical patches and cables that extend into hyphal-like structures. Actin perinuclear shells form each cell cycle and polygonal territories emerge during cellularization. This work makes Spizellomyces a genetically tractable model for comparative cell biology and understanding the evolution of fungi and early eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edgar M Medina
- University of Program in Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, United States.,Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, United States
| | - Kristyn A Robinson
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, United States
| | | | - Giuseppe Ianiri
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University, Durham, United States
| | - Caroline Laplante
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
| | | | - Nicolas E Buchler
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
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8
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Brunet T, Larson BT, Linden TA, Vermeij MJA, McDonald K, King N. Light-regulated collective contractility in a multicellular choanoflagellate. Science 2020; 366:326-334. [PMID: 31624206 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay2346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Collective cell contractions that generate global tissue deformations are a signature feature of animal movement and morphogenesis. However, the origin of collective contractility in animals remains unclear. While surveying the Caribbean island of Curaçao for choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of animals, we isolated a previously undescribed species (here named Choanoeca flexa sp. nov.) that forms multicellular cup-shaped colonies. The colonies rapidly invert their curvature in response to changing light levels, which they detect through a rhodopsin-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway. Inversion requires actomyosin-mediated apical contractility and allows alternation between feeding and swimming behavior. C. flexa thus rapidly converts sensory inputs directly into multicellular contractions. These findings may inform reconstructions of hypothesized animal ancestors that existed before the evolution of specialized sensory and contractile cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibaut Brunet
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ben T Larson
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Tess A Linden
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Mark J A Vermeij
- Department of Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, CARMABI, Piscaderabaai z/n Willemstad, Curaçao
| | - Kent McDonald
- Electron Microscopy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nicole King
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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9
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Yin Z, Vargas K, Cunningham J, Bengtson S, Zhu M, Marone F, Donoghue P. The Early Ediacaran Caveasphaera Foreshadows the Evolutionary Origin of Animal-like Embryology. Curr Biol 2019; 29:4307-4314.e2. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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10
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Dudin O, Ondracka A, Grau-Bové X, Haraldsen AA, Toyoda A, Suga H, Bråte J, Ruiz-Trillo I. A unicellular relative of animals generates a layer of polarized cells by actomyosin-dependent cellularization. eLife 2019; 8:49801. [PMID: 31647412 PMCID: PMC6855841 DOI: 10.7554/elife.49801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In animals, cellularization of a coenocyte is a specialized form of cytokinesis that results in the formation of a polarized epithelium during early embryonic development. It is characterized by coordinated assembly of an actomyosin network, which drives inward membrane invaginations. However, whether coordinated cellularization driven by membrane invagination exists outside animals is not known. To that end, we investigate cellularization in the ichthyosporean Sphaeroforma arctica, a close unicellular relative of animals. We show that the process of cellularization involves coordinated inward plasma membrane invaginations dependent on an actomyosin network and reveal the temporal order of its assembly. This leads to the formation of a polarized layer of cells resembling an epithelium. We show that this stage is associated with tightly regulated transcriptional activation of genes involved in cell adhesion. Hereby we demonstrate the presence of a self-organized, clonally-generated, polarized layer of cells in a unicellular relative of animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omaya Dudin
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andrej Ondracka
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Grau-Bové
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Arthur Ab Haraldsen
- Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology (EVOGENE), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Department of Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Suga
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Jon Bråte
- Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology (EVOGENE), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
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11
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Pickett MA, Naturale VF, Feldman JL. A Polarizing Issue: Diversity in the Mechanisms Underlying Apico-Basolateral Polarization In Vivo. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2019; 35:285-308. [PMID: 31461314 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100818-125134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Polarization along an apico-basolateral axis is a hallmark of epithelial cells and is essential for their selective barrier and transporter functions, as well as for their ability to provide mechanical resiliency to organs. Loss of polarity along this axis perturbs development and is associated with a wide number of diseases. We describe three steps involved in polarization: symmetry breaking, polarity establishment, and polarity maintenance. While the proteins involved in these processes are highly conserved among epithelial tissues and species, the execution of these steps varies widely and is context dependent. We review both theoretical principles underlying these steps and recent work demonstrating how apico-basolateral polarity is established in vivo in different tissues, highlighting how developmental and physiological contexts play major roles in the execution of the epithelial polarity program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Pickett
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;
| | - Victor F Naturale
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;
| | - Jessica L Feldman
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;
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12
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Joukov V, De Nicolo A. The Centrosome and the Primary Cilium: The Yin and Yang of a Hybrid Organelle. Cells 2019; 8:E701. [PMID: 31295970 PMCID: PMC6678760 DOI: 10.3390/cells8070701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Centrosomes and primary cilia are usually considered as distinct organelles, although both are assembled with the same evolutionary conserved, microtubule-based templates, the centrioles. Centrosomes serve as major microtubule- and actin cytoskeleton-organizing centers and are involved in a variety of intracellular processes, whereas primary cilia receive and transduce environmental signals to elicit cellular and organismal responses. Understanding the functional relationship between centrosomes and primary cilia is important because defects in both structures have been implicated in various diseases, including cancer. Here, we discuss evidence that the animal centrosome evolved, with the transition to complex multicellularity, as a hybrid organelle comprised of the two distinct, but intertwined, structural-functional modules: the centriole/primary cilium module and the pericentriolar material/centrosome module. The evolution of the former module may have been caused by the expanding cellular diversification and intercommunication, whereas that of the latter module may have been driven by the increasing complexity of mitosis and the requirement for maintaining cell polarity, individuation, and adhesion. Through its unique ability to serve both as a plasma membrane-associated primary cilium organizer and a juxtanuclear microtubule-organizing center, the animal centrosome has become an ideal integrator of extracellular and intracellular signals with the cytoskeleton and a switch between the non-cell autonomous and the cell-autonomous signaling modes. In light of this hypothesis, we discuss centrosome dynamics during cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation and propose a model of centrosome-driven microtubule assembly in mitotic and interphase cells. In addition, we outline the evolutionary benefits of the animal centrosome and highlight the hierarchy and modularity of the centrosome biogenesis networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Joukov
- N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology, 197758 Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
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13
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Rübsam M, Broussard JA, Wickström SA, Nekrasova O, Green KJ, Niessen CM. Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes Coordinate Mechanics and Signaling to Orchestrate Tissue Morphogenesis and Function: An Evolutionary Perspective. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2018; 10:a029207. [PMID: 28893859 PMCID: PMC6211388 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a029207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Cadherin-based adherens junctions (AJs) and desmosomes are crucial to couple intercellular adhesion to the actin or intermediate filament cytoskeletons, respectively. As such, these intercellular junctions are essential to provide not only integrity to epithelia and other tissues but also the mechanical machinery necessary to execute complex morphogenetic and homeostatic intercellular rearrangements. Moreover, these spatially defined junctions serve as signaling hubs that integrate mechanical and chemical pathways to coordinate tissue architecture with behavior. This review takes an evolutionary perspective on how the emergence of these two essential intercellular junctions at key points during the evolution of multicellular animals afforded metazoans with new opportunities to integrate adhesion, cytoskeletal dynamics, and signaling. We discuss known literature on cross-talk between the two junctions and, using the skin epidermis as an example, provide a model for how these two junctions function in concert to orchestrate tissue organization and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Rübsam
- University of Cologne, Department of Dermatology, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases (CECAD), Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) at the CECAD Research Center, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Joshua A Broussard
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pathology and Dermatology, the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Sara A Wickström
- Paul Gerson Unna Group, Skin Homeostasis and Ageing, Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, 50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Oxana Nekrasova
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pathology and Dermatology, the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Kathleen J Green
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pathology and Dermatology, the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Carien M Niessen
- University of Cologne, Department of Dermatology, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases (CECAD), Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) at the CECAD Research Center, 50931 Cologne, Germany
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14
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Miller PW, Pokutta S, Mitchell JM, Chodaparambil JV, Clarke DN, Nelson WJ, Weis WI, Nichols SA. Analysis of a vinculin homolog in a sponge (phylum Porifera) reveals that vertebrate-like cell adhesions emerged early in animal evolution. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:11674-11686. [PMID: 29880641 PMCID: PMC6066325 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra117.001325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of cell-adhesion mechanisms in animals facilitated the assembly of organized multicellular tissues. Studies in traditional animal models have revealed two predominant adhesion structures, the adherens junction (AJ) and focal adhesions (FAs), which are involved in the attachment of neighboring cells to each other and to the secreted extracellular matrix (ECM), respectively. The AJ (containing cadherins and catenins) and FAs (comprising integrins, talin, and paxillin) differ in protein composition, but both junctions contain the actin-binding protein vinculin. The near ubiquity of these structures in animals suggests that AJ and FAs evolved early, possibly coincident with multicellularity. However, a challenge to this perspective is that previous studies of sponges-a divergent animal lineage-indicate that their tissues are organized primarily by an alternative, sponge-specific cell-adhesion mechanism called "aggregation factor." In this study, we examined the structure, biochemical properties, and tissue localization of a vinculin ortholog in the sponge Oscarella pearsei (Op). Our results indicate that Op vinculin localizes to both cell-cell and cell-ECM contacts and has biochemical and structural properties similar to those of vertebrate vinculin. We propose that Op vinculin played a role in cell adhesion and tissue organization in the last common ancestor of sponges and other animals. These findings provide compelling evidence that sponge tissues are indeed organized like epithelia in other animals and support the notion that AJ- and FA-like structures extend to the earliest periods of animal evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabine Pokutta
- From the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and
- Structural Biology, School of Medicine and
| | - Jennyfer M Mitchell
- the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208
| | - Jayanth V Chodaparambil
- From the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and
- Structural Biology, School of Medicine and
| | - D Nathaniel Clarke
- the Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and
| | - W James Nelson
- From the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and
- the Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and
| | - William I Weis
- From the Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and
- Structural Biology, School of Medicine and
| | - Scott A Nichols
- the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208
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15
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Interacting-heads motif has been conserved as a mechanism of myosin II inhibition since before the origin of animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E1991-E2000. [PMID: 29444861 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1715247115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Electron microscope studies have shown that the switched-off state of myosin II in muscle involves intramolecular interaction between the two heads of myosin and between one head and the tail. The interaction, seen in both myosin filaments and isolated molecules, inhibits activity by blocking actin-binding and ATPase sites on myosin. This interacting-heads motif is highly conserved, occurring in invertebrates and vertebrates, in striated, smooth, and nonmuscle myosin IIs, and in myosins regulated by both Ca2+ binding and regulatory light-chain phosphorylation. Our goal was to determine how early this motif arose by studying the structure of inhibited myosin II molecules from primitive animals and from earlier, unicellular species that predate animals. Myosin II from Cnidaria (sea anemones, jellyfish), the most primitive animals with muscles, and Porifera (sponges), the most primitive of all animals (lacking muscle tissue) showed the same interacting-heads structure as myosins from higher animals, confirming the early origin of the motif. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum showed a similar, but modified, version of the motif, while the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii and fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) showed no head-head interaction, consistent with the different sequences and regulatory mechanisms of these myosins compared with animal myosin IIs. Our results suggest that head-head/head-tail interactions have been conserved, with slight modifications, as a mechanism for regulating myosin II activity from the emergence of the first animals and before. The early origins of these interactions highlight their importance in generating the inhibited (relaxed) state of myosin in muscle and nonmuscle cells.
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16
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Babonis LS, Martindale MQ. Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signalling pathways. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 372:rstb.2015.0477. [PMID: 27994120 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication among cells was paramount to the evolutionary increase in cell type diversity and, ultimately, the origin of large body size. Across the diversity of Metazoa, there are only few conserved cell signalling pathways known to orchestrate the complex cell and tissue interactions regulating development; thus, modification to these few pathways has been responsible for generating diversity during the evolution of animals. Here, we summarize evidence for the origin and putative function of the intracellular, membrane-bound and secreted components of seven metazoan cell signalling pathways with a special focus on early branching metazoans (ctenophores, poriferans, placozoans and cnidarians) and basal unikonts (amoebozoans, fungi, filastereans and choanoflagellates). We highlight the modular incorporation of intra- and extracellular components in each signalling pathway and suggest that increases in the complexity of the extracellular matrix may have further promoted the modulation of cell signalling during metazoan evolution. Most importantly, this updated view of metazoan signalling pathways highlights the need for explicit study of canonical signalling pathway components in taxa that do not operate a complete signalling pathway. Studies like these are critical for developing a deeper understanding of the evolution of cell signalling.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evo-devo in the genomics era, and the origins of morphological diversity'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie S Babonis
- Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA
| | - Mark Q Martindale
- Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA
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17
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Erasmus JC, Bruche S, Pizarro L, Maimari N, Pogglioli T, Tomlinson C, Lees J, Zalivina I, Wheeler A, Alberts A, Russo A, Braga VMM. Defining functional interactions during biogenesis of epithelial junctions. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13542. [PMID: 27922008 PMCID: PMC5150262 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In spite of extensive recent progress, a comprehensive understanding of how actin cytoskeleton remodelling supports stable junctions remains to be established. Here we design a platform that integrates actin functions with optimized phenotypic clustering and identify new cytoskeletal proteins, their functional hierarchy and pathways that modulate E-cadherin adhesion. Depletion of EEF1A, an actin bundling protein, increases E-cadherin levels at junctions without a corresponding reinforcement of cell–cell contacts. This unexpected result reflects a more dynamic and mobile junctional actin in EEF1A-depleted cells. A partner for EEF1A in cadherin contact maintenance is the formin DIAPH2, which interacts with EEF1A. In contrast, depletion of either the endocytic regulator TRIP10 or the Rho GTPase activator VAV2 reduces E-cadherin levels at junctions. TRIP10 binds to and requires VAV2 function for its junctional localization. Overall, we present new conceptual insights on junction stabilization, which integrate known and novel pathways with impact for epithelial morphogenesis, homeostasis and diseases. Formation and reinforcement of E-cadherin-mediated adhesion depends on intracellular trafficking and interactions with the actin cytoskeleton, but how these are coordinated is not known. Here the authors conduct a focused phenotypic screen to identify new pathways regulating cell–cell junction homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C Erasmus
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - S Bruche
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - L Pizarro
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.,Computing Department, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - N Maimari
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.,Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - T Pogglioli
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - C Tomlinson
- Department of Surgery &Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - J Lees
- Department Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - I Zalivina
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - A Wheeler
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - A Alberts
- Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA
| | - A Russo
- Computing Department, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - V M M Braga
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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18
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Grace M, Hütt MT. Regulation of Spatiotemporal Patterns by Biological Variability: General Principles and Applications to Dictyostelium discoideum. PLoS Comput Biol 2015; 11:e1004367. [PMID: 26562406 PMCID: PMC4643012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatiotemporal patterns often emerge from local interactions in a self-organizing fashion. In biology, the resulting patterns are also subject to the influence of the systematic differences between the system’s constituents (biological variability). This regulation of spatiotemporal patterns by biological variability is the topic of our review. We discuss several examples of correlations between cell properties and the self-organized spatiotemporal patterns, together with their relevance for biology. Our guiding, illustrative example will be spiral waves of cAMP in a colony of Dictyostelium discoideum cells. Analogous processes take place in diverse situations (such as cardiac tissue, where spiral waves occur in potentially fatal ventricular fibrillation) so a deeper understanding of this additional layer of self-organized pattern formation would be beneficial to a wide range of applications. One of the most striking differences between pattern-forming systems in physics or chemistry and those in biology is the potential importance of variability. In the former, system components are essentially identical with random fluctuations determining the details of the self-organization process and the resulting patterns. In biology, due to variability, the properties of potentially very few cells can have a driving influence on the resulting asymptotic collective state of the colony. Variability is one means of implementing a few-element control on the collective mode. Regulatory architectures, parameters of signaling cascades, and properties of structure formation processes can be "reverse-engineered" from observed spatiotemporal patterns, as different types of regulation and forms of interactions between the constituents can lead to markedly different correlations. The power of this biology-inspired view of pattern formation lies in building a bridge between two scales: the patterns as a collective state of a very large number of cells on the one hand, and the internal parameters of the single cells on the other. Pattern formation is abundant in nature—from the rich ornaments of sea shells and the diversity of animal coat patterns to the myriad of fractal structures in biology and pattern-forming colonies of bacteria. Particularly fascinating are patterns changing with time, spatiotemporal patterns, like propagating waves and aggregation streams. Bacteria form large branched and nested aggregation-like patterns to immobilize themselves against water flow. The individual amoeba in Dictyostelium discoideum colonies initiates a transition to a collective multicellular state via a quorum-sensing form of communication—a cAMP signal propagating through the community in the form of spiral waves—and the subsequent chemotactic response of the cells leads to branch-like aggregation streams. The theoretical principle underlying most of these spatial and spatiotemporal patterns is self-organization, in which local interactions lead to patterns as large-scale collective”modes” of the system. Over more than half a century, these patterns have been classified and analyzed according to a”physics paradigm,” investigating such questions as how parameters regulate the transitions among patterns, which (types of) interactions lead to such large-scale patterns, and whether there are "critical parameter values" marking the sharp, spontaneous onset of patterns. A fundamental discovery has been that simple local interaction rules can lead to complex large-scale patterns. The specific pattern "layouts" (i.e., their spatial arrangement and their geometric constraints) have received less attention. However, there is a major difference between patterns in physics and chemistry on the one hand and patterns in biology on the other: in biology, patterns often have an important functional role for the biological system and can be considered to be under evolutionary selection. From this perspective, we can expect that individual biological elements exert some control on the emerging patterns. Here we explore spiral wave patterns as a prominent example to illustrate the regulation of spatiotemporal patterns by biological variability. We propose a new approach to studying spatiotemporal data in biology: analyzing the correlation between the spatial distribution of the constituents’ properties and the features of the spatiotemporal pattern. This general concept is illustrated by simulated patterns and experimental data of a model organism of biological pattern formation, the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. We introduce patterns starting from Turing (stripe and spot) patterns, together with target waves and spiral waves. The biological relevance of these patterns is illustrated by snapshots from real and theoretical biological systems. The principles of spiral wave formation are first explored in a stylized cellular automaton model and then reproduced in a model of Dictyostelium signaling. The shaping of spatiotemporal patterns by biological variability (i.e., by a spatial distribution of cell-to-cell differences) is demonstrated, focusing on two Dictyostelium models. Building up on this foundation, we then discuss in more detail how the nonlinearities in biological models translate the distribution of cell properties into pattern events, leaving characteristic geometric signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Grace
- School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Marc-Thorsten Hütt
- School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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19
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Rossier BC, Baker ME, Studer RA. Epithelial sodium transport and its control by aldosterone: the story of our internal environment revisited. Physiol Rev 2015; 95:297-340. [PMID: 25540145 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00011.2014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription and translation require a high concentration of potassium across the entire tree of life. The conservation of a high intracellular potassium was an absolute requirement for the evolution of life on Earth. This was achieved by the interplay of P- and V-ATPases that can set up electrochemical gradients across the cell membrane, an energetically costly process requiring the synthesis of ATP by F-ATPases. In animals, the control of an extracellular compartment was achieved by the emergence of multicellular organisms able to produce tight epithelial barriers creating a stable extracellular milieu. Finally, the adaptation to a terrestrian environment was achieved by the evolution of distinct regulatory pathways allowing salt and water conservation. In this review we emphasize the critical and dual role of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in the control of the ionic composition of the extracellular fluid and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in salt and water conservation in vertebrates. The action of aldosterone on transepithelial sodium transport by activation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) at the apical membrane and that of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase at the basolateral membrane may have evolved in lungfish before the emergence of tetrapods. Finally, we discuss the implication of RAAS in the origin of the present pandemia of hypertension and its associated cardiovascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard C Rossier
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael E Baker
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Romain A Studer
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; and Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Dickinson DJ, Nelson WJ, Weis WI. Studying epithelial morphogenesis in Dictyostelium. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1189:267-81. [PMID: 25245700 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1164-6_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The discovery of polarized epithelial tissue in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum establishes this classical model organism as a novel system for the study of epithelial polarity and morphogenesis. D. discoideum grows as single cells and is easily maintained in cell culture. Starvation of the cells triggers a multicellular developmental process that culminates with the formation of a fruiting body, whose normal morphogenesis is dependent on a polarized epithelium located at the apex of the developing structure. Here, we discuss techniques for genetic manipulation and imaging of multicellular D. discoideum, with a focus on methods that have facilitated the study of the epithelial tissue in this organism.
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Abstract
Vertebrate adherens junctions mediate cell–cell adhesion via a “classical” cadherin–catenin “core” complex, which is associated with and regulated by a functional network of proteins, collectively named the cadherin adhesome (“cadhesome”). The most basal metazoans have been shown to conserve the cadherin–catenin “core”, but little is known about the evolution of the cadhesome. Using a bioinformatics approach based on both sequence and structural analysis, we have traced the evolution of this larger network in 26 organisms, from the uni-cellular ancestors of metazoans, through basal metazoans, to vertebrates. Surprisingly, we show that approximately 70% of the cadhesome, including proteins with similarity to the catenins, predate metazoans. We found that the transition to multicellularity was accompanied by the appearance of a small number of adaptor proteins, and we show how these proteins may have helped to integrate pre-metazoan sub-networks via PDZ domain–peptide interactions. Finally, we found the increase in network complexity in higher metazoans to have been driven primarily by expansion of paralogs. In summary, our analysis helps to explain how the complex protein network associated with cadherin at adherens junctions first came together in the first metazoan and how it evolved into the even more complex mammalian cadhesome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul S Murray
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA Center of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, Irving Cancer Research Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Ronen Zaidel-Bar
- Mechanobiology Institute Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411 Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575
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22
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Abstract
The first animals arose more than six hundred million years ago, yet they left little impression in the fossil record. Nonetheless, the cell biology and genome composition of the first animal, the Urmetazoan, can be reconstructed through the study of phylogenetically relevant living organisms. Comparisons among animals and their unicellular and colonial relatives reveal that the Urmetazoan likely possessed a layer of epithelium-like collar cells, preyed on bacteria, reproduced by sperm and egg, and developed through cell division, cell differentiation, and invagination. Although many genes involved in development, body patterning, immunity, and cell-type specification evolved in the animal stem lineage or after animal origins, several gene families critical for cell adhesion, signaling, and gene regulation predate the origin of animals. The ancestral functions of these and other genes may eventually be revealed through studies of gene and genome function in early-branching animals and their closest non-animal relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Richter
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3200; ,
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23
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Riesgo A, Farrar N, Windsor PJ, Giribet G, Leys SP. The analysis of eight transcriptomes from all poriferan classes reveals surprising genetic complexity in sponges. Mol Biol Evol 2014; 31:1102-20. [PMID: 24497032 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msu057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Sponges (Porifera) are among the earliest evolving metazoans. Their filter-feeding body plan based on choanocyte chambers organized into a complex aquiferous system is so unique among metazoans that it either reflects an early divergence from other animals prior to the evolution of features such as muscles and nerves, or that sponges lost these characters. Analyses of the Amphimedon and Oscarella genomes support this view of uniqueness-many key metazoan genes are absent in these sponges-but whether this is generally true of other sponges remains unknown. We studied the transcriptomes of eight sponge species in four classes (Hexactinellida, Demospongiae, Homoscleromorpha, and Calcarea) specifically seeking genes and pathways considered to be involved in animal complexity. For reference, we also sought these genes in transcriptomes and genomes of three unicellular opisthokonts, two sponges (A. queenslandica and O. carmela), and two bilaterian taxa. Our analyses showed that all sponge classes share an unexpectedly large complement of genes with other metazoans. Interestingly, hexactinellid, calcareous, and homoscleromorph sponges share more genes with bilaterians than with nonbilaterian metazoans. We were surprised to find representatives of most molecules involved in cell-cell communication, signaling, complex epithelia, immune recognition, and germ-lineage/sex, with only a few, but potentially key, absences. A noteworthy finding was that some important genes were absent from all demosponges (transcriptomes and the Amphimedon genome), which might reflect divergence from main-stem lineages including hexactinellids, calcareous sponges, and homoscleromorphs. Our results suggest that genetic complexity arose early in evolution as shown by the presence of these genes in most of the animal lineages, which suggests sponges either possess cryptic physiological and morphological complexity and/or have lost ancestral cell types or physiological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Riesgo
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
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24
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Miller PW, Pokutta S, Ghosh A, Almo SC, Weis WI, Nelson WJ, Kwiatkowski AV. Danio rerio αE-catenin is a monomeric F-actin binding protein with distinct properties from Mus musculus αE-catenin. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:22324-32. [PMID: 23788645 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.458406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
It is unknown whether homologs of the cadherin·catenin complex have conserved structures and functions across the Metazoa. Mammalian αE-catenin is an allosterically regulated actin-binding protein that binds the cadherin·β-catenin complex as a monomer and whose dimerization potentiates F-actin association. We tested whether these functional properties are conserved in another vertebrate, the zebrafish Danio rerio. Here we show, despite 90% sequence identity, that Danio rerio and Mus musculus αE-catenin have striking functional differences. We demonstrate that D. rerio αE-catenin is monomeric by size exclusion chromatography, native PAGE, and small angle x-ray scattering. D. rerio αE-catenin binds F-actin in cosedimentation assays as a monomer and as an α/β-catenin heterodimer complex. D. rerio αE-catenin also bundles F-actin, as shown by negative stained transmission electron microscopy, and does not inhibit Arp2/3 complex-mediated actin nucleation in bulk polymerization assays. Thus, core properties of α-catenin function, F-actin and β-catenin binding, are conserved between mouse and zebrafish. We speculate that unique regulatory properties have evolved to match specific developmental requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip W Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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Tian X, Strassmann JE, Queller DC. Dictyostelium development shows a novel pattern of evolutionary conservation. Mol Biol Evol 2013; 30:977-84. [PMID: 23329689 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/mst007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
von Baer's law states that early stages of animal development are the most conserved. More recent evidence supports a modified "hourglass" pattern in which an early but somewhat later stage is most conserved. Both patterns have been explained by the relative complexity of either temporal or spatial interactions; the greatest conservation and lowest evolvability occur at the time of the most complex interactions, because these cause larger effects that are harder for selection to alter. This general kind of explanation might apply universally across independent multicellular systems, as supported by the recent finding of the hourglass pattern in plants. We use RNA-seq expression data from the development of the slime mold Dictyostelium to demonstrate that it does not follow either of the two canonical patterns but instead tends to show the strongest conservation and weakest evolvability late in development. We propose that this is consistent with a version of the spatial constraints model, modified for organisms that never achieve a high degree of developmental modularity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangjun Tian
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA
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26
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Parfrey LW, Lahr DJG. Multicellularity arose several times in the evolution of eukaryotes (Response to DOI 10.1002/bies.201100187). Bioessays 2013; 35:339-47. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201200143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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27
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Nelson WJ, Dickinson DJ, Weis WI. Roles of cadherins and catenins in cell-cell adhesion and epithelial cell polarity. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2013; 116:3-23. [PMID: 23481188 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-394311-8.00001-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A simple epithelium is the building block of all metazoans and a multicellular stage of a nonmetazoan. It comprises a closed monolayer of quiescent cells that surround a luminal space. Cells are held together by cell-cell adhesion complexes and surrounded by extracellular matrix. These extracellular contacts are required for the formation of a polarized organization of plasma membrane proteins that regulate the directional absorption and secretion of ions, proteins, and other solutes. While advances have been made in understanding how proteins are sorted to different plasma membrane domains, less is known about how cell-cell adhesion is regulated and linked to the development of epithelial cell polarity and regulation of homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- W James Nelson
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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28
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Miller PW, Clarke DN, Weis WI, Lowe CJ, Nelson WJ. The evolutionary origin of epithelial cell-cell adhesion mechanisms. CURRENT TOPICS IN MEMBRANES 2013; 72:267-311. [PMID: 24210433 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-417027-8.00008-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
A simple epithelium forms a barrier between the outside and the inside of an organism, and is the first organized multicellular tissue found in evolution. We examine the relationship between the evolution of epithelia and specialized cell-cell adhesion proteins comprising the classical cadherin/β-catenin/α-catenin complex (CCC). A review of the divergent functional properties of the CCC in metazoans and non-metazoans, and an updated phylogenetic coverage of the CCC using recent genomic data reveal: (1) The core CCC likely originated before the last common ancestor of unikonts and their closest bikont sister taxa. (2) Formation of the CCC may have constrained sequence evolution of the classical cadherin cytoplasmic domain and β-catenin in metazoa. (3) The α-catenin-binding domain in β-catenin appears to be the favored mutation site for disrupting β-catenin function in the CCC. (4) The ancestral function of the α/β-catenin heterodimer appears to be an actin-binding module. In some metazoan groups, more complex functions of α-catenin were gained by sequence divergence in the non-actin-binding (N-, M-) domains. (5) Allosteric regulation of α-catenin may have evolved for more complex regulation of the actin cytoskeleton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip W Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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29
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Baluška F. Rethinking origins of multicellularity: convergent evolution of epithelia in plants. Bioessays 2012; 34:1085. [PMID: 23108939 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201200134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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30
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Bosch TCG. Rethinking the origin of multicellularity: Where do epithelia come from? (Comment on DOI 10.1002/bies.201100187). Bioessays 2012; 34:826-7. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201200104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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