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Genes to Cells (2004) 9, 83-93. doi:10.1111/j.1356-9597.2004.00708.x
© 2004 Blackwell Publishing or its licensors

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An evolutionarily conserved gene required for proper microtubule architecture in Caenorhabditis elegans

Satoshi Ogawa, Yutaka Matsubayashi and Eisuke Nishida*

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
Microtubules are involved in many cellular events during the cell cycle and also in a variety of early embryonic developmental processes. Their architecture and properties change dramatically during the cell cycle and are properly regulated. However, these regulatory mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. C05D11.3 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans encodes a low molecular weight protein that is evolutionarily conserved from yeasts to mammals. A mouse homolog of the C05D11.3 product, APACD (ATP binding protein associated with cell differentiation), contains a thioredoxin-like domain and P-loop, and is present in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, showing often localization to centrosomes and midbody. In C. elegans, C05D11.3 is expressed throughout development with higher levels of expression in most cells of the nervous system and in vulva. C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos show apparent defects in pronuclear migration or nuclear-centrosome rotation, and exhibit little astral microtubules and defective small spindles. These results indicate that C05D11.3, an evolutionarily conserved gene, is essential for proper microtubule organization and function in C. elegans. This gene family may be a conserved regulator of microtubule dynamics and function.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
Microtubules are involved in many cellular events during cell cycle. The extensive interphase network of microtubules rapidly disassembles and is replaced by the spindle apparatus, a bipolar array of shorter, more dynamic microtubules. Although it has been demonstrated that this change in microtubule dynamics is regulated largely by cyclin A- and cyclin B-dependent kinases, detailed molecular mechanisms controlling the organization and dynamic nature of microtubules have not been fully elucidated.

The changes in the organization and dynamic properties of microtubules in early embryos are especially striking. In Caenorhabditis elegans, as in most animals, the sperm contributes to a pair of centrioles, which duplicates to form the new zygotic centrosomes and recruits the pericentriolar material components from the cytoplasm, allowing microtubules nucleation and growth. Prior to mitosis, growth of long astral microtubule is required for migration of the maternal pronucleus toward the paternal one, for migration of the pronuclear-centrosomal complex to the cell centre, and for rotation of the complex on to the anterior-posterior axis (Sulston et al. 1983; Albertson 1984; Hyman & White 1987; Gonczy et al. 1999b).

A pioneering work of Hyman's group reported a functional genomic screen to identify genes required for cell division in C. elegans (Gonczy et al. 2000). In that report, in the ‘pronuclear migration’ phenotypic class comprising six genes, migration of pronuclei is affected. Two of the corresponding genes encode ß-tubulin subunits. This is reasonable because pronuclear migration is a microtubule-dependent process (Strome & Wood 1983; Wright & Hunter 2003). One of the other genes encodes a dynein light chain, and one encodes a dynactin component p50/dynamitin. These are also reasonable because cytoplasmic dynein function is shown to be required for this process in C. elegans (Skop & White 1998; Gonczy et al. 1999a; Yoder & Han 2001). Moreover, the C. elegans homolog of lis-1, the human gene mutated in Miller-Dieker lissencephaly (Reiner et al. 1993; Lo Nigro et al. 1997), is also required for pronuclear migration (Dawe et al. 2001). The lis-1 homologue acts in concert with dynein to mediate the positioning of the nucleus in both Aspergillus and Drosophila (Swan et al. 1999; Willins et al. 1997). In contrast, the other one gene, C05D11.3, has not been characterized in detail. We found putative C05D11.3 homologues by screening genomic databases of many organisms.

In this study, we first describe characterization of APACD, a mammalian homologue of C05D11.3. Mouse APACD is present in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, showing often localization to centrosomes and midbody. Then, we characterized C05D11.3 in C. elegans. C05D11.3 is expressed throughout development with higher levels of expression in most cells of the nervous system and in vulva. C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos show apparent defects in not only pronuclear migration but also nuclear-centrosome rotation, and exhibit little astral microtubules and defective small spindles. These results suggest that this gene family may be a conserved regulator of microtubule dynamics and function.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
C05D11.3 is evolutionarily conserved

Genomic databases of many organisms were screened to identify members of C. elegans C05D11.3. The organisms include mouse, rat, human, Xenopus, Drosophila, Arabidopsis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other unicellular eukaryotes (Fig. 1A). Mouse and human homologues are called APACD (ATP binding protein associated with cell differentiation). The mouse and C. elegans proteins show 45% homology, and the mouse and human proteins show 90%. Mouse APACD comprises 226 amino acids with a thioredoxin-like domain in the middle portion (Fig. 1B). Thioredoxins are a family of proteins that have a conserved catalytic site (CGPC) that undergoes reversible oxidation to the cystine disulphide (Arner & Holmgren 2000). APACD does not include the conserved catalytic site. This indicates that APACD has no thioredoxin activity. Vertebrate (mouse, rat, human or Xenopus) APACD has in common an ATP/GTP-binding site motif A (Fig. 1A,B). An ATP/GTP-binding site motif A is the evolutionarily conserved motif (G/AxxxxGKT/S), that is present in many nucleotide-binding proteins including dynein heavy chain (Walker et al. 1982; Silvanovich et al. 2003), forming a typical loop, called the P-loop. P-loop is predicted to bind and/or hydrolyse ATP (Walker et al. 1982). It is possible that APACD may have an ATP binding and/or hydrolysis function. An S. cerevisiae homologue of C05D11.3 (30% homologous to mouse APACD) is called phosducin-like protein 1, Plp1, which binds to G protein ß{gamma} subunits (Flanary et al. 2000). A Dictyostelium homologue, PhLP3 (42% homologous to mouse APACD) is a member of a family of phosducin-like proteins, which might facilitate folding, localization or function of proteins, in addition to modulation of G-protein signalling (Blaauw et al. 2003).




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Figure 1  Characterization and analysis of mouse APACD. (A) Alignment of the amino acid sequences of mouse, rat, human, Xenopus, Drosophila, Arabidopsis, C. elegans, Dictyostelium and S. cerevisiae. Black shadowing indicates identical residues. Red box indicates P-loop. The GENBANK Accession Number for mouse APACD is NP_742051 [GenBank] , a rat homologue is NP_742029 [GenBank] , human APACD is NP_005774 [GenBank] , a Xenopus homologue is AAH45061, a Drosophila homologue is AAL28410, an Arabidopsis homologue is NP_179489 [GenBank] , C. elegans C05D11.3 is NP_498410 [GenBank] , Dictyostelium PhLP3 is AAQ11194 and S. cerevisiae hypothetical protein YDR183w (Plp1) is S49780. (B) A schematic representation of the protein structure of mouse APACD. The blue box indicates thioredoxin-like domain. The red bar indicates P-loop. (C) Tissue distribution of mouse APACD. Northern blot analysis was performed. RNA size markers are shown on the left. RNA quality and relative loading were confirmed by blotting with ß-actin cDNA (data not shown). (D) Myc-tagged or GFP-tagged APACD was expressed in HeLa cells. Cell lysates were analysed by immunoblotting using anti-myc or anti-GFP antibodies. (E) Subcellular localization of myc-tagged or GFP-tagged APACD in HeLa cells. HeLa cells were transfected with myc-tagged (top) or GFP-tagged (middle and bottom) mouse APACD. Twenty-four hours later, the cells were fixed and stained with anti-{gamma}-tubulin and DAPI. Myc- or GFP-tagged APACD localized both to the nucleus and the cytoplasm. GFP-tagged APACD was often localized to the centrosome (arrowheads) and the midbody (arrows).

 
Next, we examined tissue distribution of mouse APACD transcripts by Northern blot analysis. A single transcript of 1.8 kb was detected in various tissues, with the highest expression occurring in testis, liver and heart (Fig. 1C).

APACD localizes to the nucleus and the cytoplasm

We cloned mouse APACD cDNA and expressed myc-tagged or GFP-tagged APACD in HeLa cells. Cell extracts were immunoblotted with anti-myc or anti-GFP antibody. The protein was detected as a single band in each immunoblotting (Fig. 1D).

Indirect immunofluorescence with anti-myc antibody showed that myc-APACD was localized both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. GFP-APACD was also found in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Furthermore, GFP-APACD often showed co-localization with a centrosomal marker {gamma}-tubulin. APACD protein also concentrated on the midbody during cytokinesis (Fig. 1E). To examine the function of APACD, we tried to down-regulate endogenous APACD by siRNA (small interference RNA). But we were unable to reduce it significantly (data not shown).

C.elegans C05D11.3 is expressed in various stages and tissues

We then used a model animal, C. elegans, to investigate the function of C05D11.3. We first examined the expression of C05D11.3 at various developmental stages. C05D11.3 was expressed mainly in the young adult and adult stages (Fig. 2A).



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Figure 2  Expression pattern of C05D11.3::GFP observed in embryonic, larval and adult stages of C. elegans. (A) Expression of C05D11.3 in various stages. C05D11.3 mRNA was up-regulated at young adult and 4-days stage. Total RNA was isolated from synchronized cultures. (B) The diagram showing the ppd95.75 reporter construct used to generate C05D11.3::GFP expression lines. The C05D11.3::GFP construct includes putative upstream regulatory sequences. The GFP sequence was fused in frame with the 3' end of the C05D11.3 coding sequence. (C–E) Expression of C05D11.3::GFP. (C) A late embryo showed diffuse expression. (D) A late L4 worm showed expression in most cells of the nervous system, as well as in the vulva (arrow) and the pharynx (arrowhead). (E) An adult worm with eggs showed expression in most cells of the nervous system, as well as in the vulva (arrow) and the pharynx (arrowhead).

 
Next, we generated the reporter gene in which the green fluorescent protein (GFP) open reading frame (ORF) was fused to an ~5.7 kb fragment that contained C05D11.3 and putative upstream regulatory sequences (Fig. 2B). The C05D11.3::GFP fusion construct was injected into the gonad of wild-type worms. The obtained transgenic animals started to express the construct during late embryogenesis. We could not find the GFP expression in early embryogenesis (data not shown and see Fig. 2E). A late embryo showed diffuse expression (Fig. 2C). In early larvae, a faint and diffuse staining was observed in all tissues (data not shown). Interestingly, the C05D11.3::GFP continued to be expressed in most cells of the nervous system, at all larval stages and in adult animals: the ventral nerve cord as well as dorsal and lateral cords (Fig. 3A). And it is expressed in the pharynx (Fig. 2D,E, arrowheads). Larval stages showed strong expression, in particular non-neuronal cells (data not shown). Furthermore, an oval of fluorescence in the middle of the L4 worm suggested that C05D11.3 was expressed in the vulva (Fig. 2D,E, arrows). After the L4 stage, C05D11.3::GFP expression was seen in the vulva in all life. A more detailed analysis of this expression is shown in Fig. 3A,B. These results indicate that C05D11.3 is highly expressed in the nervous system and vulva. This expression pattern might suggest its function in the nervous system and vulva, as can also be suggested from the Unc and Egl phenotypes noted in the previous reports of large-scale RNAi screens (Kamath et al. 2003; Simmer et al. 2003). We also examined the subcellular localization of C05D11.3. C05D11.3::GFP is partly co-localized with DAPI (Fig. 3C), suggesting that C05D11.3 is localized both in the nucleus and the cytoplasm.



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Figure 3  Expression and subcellular localization of C05D11.3::GFP. (A) Expression of C05D11.3 was seen in the ventral nerve cord (arrow) and the tail neurones. (B) C05D11.3 is highly expressed in the vulva. GFP images of late L4 and adult vulva are shown with ventral (top) and lateral (bottom) views. (C) C05D11.3 is expressed both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm. GFP is shown in green and DAPI in blue. C05D11.3::GFP is partly co-localized with DAPI (arrowheads).

 
RNAi targeted for C05D11.3 results in early embryonic lethality

To examine the function of C05D11.3, feeding RNAi for C05D11.3 was carried out. The progeny of RNAi-targeted worms showed about 60% embryonic lethality (Fig. 4). This result is consistent with the previous reports (Gonczy et al. 2000; Kamath et al. 2003; Simmer et al. 2003). In the wild-type case, embryos from the 2-cell to 64-cell stage were arranged in a well-organized pattern showing normal development and cell divisions. On the other hand, the C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos showed a highly disorganized pattern with no sign of cell division. DAPI staining showed large clumps of nuclei, indicating that these embryos failed to progress through early cleavage. However, eggshells were observed around the embryos, and oval-shaped embryos were apparent, indicating that fertilization had occurred in these embryos. These results indicate that C05D11.3 is essential for proper cell division.



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Figure 4  DAPI staining and DIC images of wild-type and C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos showed no signs of cell division.

 
C05D11.3 has a pivotal role in pronuclear migration or nuclear-centrosome rotation

To analyse the C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos in more detail, we observed C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos at one cell stage by time-lapse DIC microscopy. The C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos reproducibly fell into one of the three phenotypic types. About 40% of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos showed nuclear-centrosome rotation defects (Fig. 5A, type I). Proper pronuclear migration and proper pronuclear meeting occurred as in wild-type embryos, but the nuclear-centrosome complex failed to move to the cell centre and did not undergo a 90° rotation. Nuclear envelope then breakdown occurred. Cytokinesis did not occur. Then, the successive emergence of several small nuclei was observed. In about 30% of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos (Fig. 5B, type II), the male pronuclear migration did not occur. The female pronucleus migrated toward the male pronucleus, but the male pronucleus did not migrate. Then, the two pronuclei met at the posterior cortex. In about 30% of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos (Fig. 5C, type III), appeared multiple pronuclei. Migration of the male and female pronuclei rarely took place. These results demonstrate that C05D11.3 has a pivotal role in pronuclear migration or nuclear-centrosome rotation.



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Figure 5  Pronuclear migration and nuclear-centrosome rotation defects in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. Total number of embryos analysed, 21. (A) Type I (9 out of 21 embryos). Nuclear-centrosome rotation defects. DIC images demonstrating progression through the two-cell embryo stage in wild-type embryos and in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. The timeelapsed (minute:second) since initiating the sequence capture is shown in each image. Embryos are aligned with the anterior to the left. A pseudocleavage furrow is present in both embryos. The arrowheads indicate visible centrosomes. In wild-type embryos, the maternal pronucleus (left) and the paternal pronucleus (right) migrated towards each other (00 : 00) and met at approximately 70% egg length (02 : 50). After pronuclear meeting, the nuclear-centrosome complex moved to the centre of the embryo and underwent a 90° rotation (05 : 20). Nuclear envelope breakdown occurred in the cell centre (08 : 40). Following completion of the first cell division, both cells contained centrally located nuclei (18 : 00). In this type of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, pronuclear migration (00 : 00) and pronuclear meeting (02 : 40) were normal, but the nuclear-centrosome complex did not move or rotate. Nuclear envelope breakdown occurred (05 : 30). Cytoplasmic furrowing began to take place (08 : 40), but was not completed. Several small nuclei then appeared (16 : 10). (B) Type II (6 out of 21 embryos). Male pronuclear migration defects. Two samples are shown. Female pronuclear migration did not appear affected. The female pronucleus migrated towards the male pronucleus, while the male pronucleus did not migrate. The two pronuclei met at the posterior cortex. (C) Type III (6 out of 21 embryos). C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos had multiple nuclei. There were two female pronuclei (left) at the cortex.

 
C05D11.3 RNAi treatment disrupts proper microtubule architecture

Since pronuclear migration and nuclear-centrosome rotation are dependent on microtubules (Strome & Wood 1983; Albertson 1984; Hyman & White 1987; Hyman 1989; Reinsch & Gonczy 1998), we examined the organization of microtubules in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos during the cell cycle. We visualized microtubules in wild-type and C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos by immunofluorescence by using {alpha}-tubulin antibody (Fig. 6A). In wild-type embryos, prior to mitotic prophase, long microtubules emanated from the two centrosomes that were associated with the sperm-derived pronucleus. In contrast, in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, microtubules were very short. This observation suggests that the phenotype of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos might be caused by the poor and short microtubules.



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Figure 6  Microtubule architecture of C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. Wild-type and C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos were fixed and stained for {alpha}-tubulin, {gamma}-tubulin, and DNA. All panels are aligned with the anterior to the left and the posterior to the right. (A) Very short microtubules in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. In wild-type embryos, prior to prophase, long microtubules emanated from the centrosomes. In C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, microtubules were very short. (B) Defects in the organization of mitotic apparatus in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. Left two columns, wild-type embryos at metaphase (1st column) and anaphase (2nd column). Right two columns, C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos at metaphase (3rd column) and anaphase (4th column). (C) C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos continue the cell cycle without cytokinesis. C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos contained many centrosomes.

 
Next, we examined the organization of mitotic apparatus in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos (Fig. 6B). In wild-type embryos, the first mitotic spindle assembled at the cell centre along with the AP axis of the embryo (1st column). In contrast, in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, normal spindles were never observed. Although centrosome separation and spindle assembly occurred, the spindle was located in the cell posterior and orthogonal to the AP axis. Astral microtubules were significantly shorter than in wild-type embryos (3rd column). At anaphase, in wild-type embryos, two sets of chromosomes segregated towards the spindle poles (2nd column), whereas in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, the spindle with short asters contained less organized, short microtubules, and chromosomes did not segregated regularly (4th column). These results suggest that C05D11.3 is required for proper microtubule architecture.

C05D11.3 RNAi treatment causes improper cytokinesis

In C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, cytokinetic furrows were formed but regressed without completion of cytokinesis (data not shown and see Fig. 5A). In our {alpha}-tubulin and {gamma}-tubulin staining experiments (Fig. 6C), many centrosomes and multipolar spindles were found. Moreover, additional DNA was detected in these embryos, suggesting that C05D11.3 RNAi embryos underwent multiple rounds of nuclear division without completing cytokinesis.


    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
In this study, we have characterized the new gene family that includes mammalian APACD and C. elegans C05D11.3. This gene family product is highly conserved from yeast to human, suggesting that it may have an important function.

Mouse APACD contains the conserved ATP binding motif, P-loop, like dynein heavy chain and other cytoskeletal proteins. Moreover, we have shown that mouse APACD is often localized at the centrosome and midbody. Thus, APACD might be a regulator of microtubule dynamics and function in mammalian cells.

Our results have demonstrated that C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos show marked defects in pronuclear migration and nuclear-centrosome rotation in C. elegans. A recent global RNAi study demonstrated that in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos, male pronuclear migration defects and multiple nuclei were observed (Gonczy et al. 2000). Our results also detected these two types of phenotypes (type II and type III, in Fig. 5B,C). In addition, we have found nuclear-centrosome rotation defects (type I, in Fig. 5A). It has been proposed that both pronuclear migration and nuclear-centrosome rotation are dependent on microtubules (Strome & Wood 1983; Albertson 1984; Hyman & White 1987; Hyman 1989; Reinsch & Gonczy 1998). Our data have shown that astral microtubules become much less extensive and spindle microtubules are small and poorly organized in C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos. It is possible that this defect in microtubule architecture causes the defects in pronuclear migration and nuclear-centrosome rotation.

We speculate that this gene family may be a conserved regulator of microtubule dynamics and function. Molecular mechanisms by which this gene product regulates microtubule architecture should be elucidated in future studies.


    Experimental procedures
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
Plasmid construction

The 5.7 kb sequence comprising all C05D11.3 coding and upstream sequences (including the two genes C05D11.9 and C05D11.10) were amplified by PCR from cosmid C05D11 and transcriptionally fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) coding sequence in the pPD95.75 vector (Cassata et al. 1998). The open reading frame of mouse APACD was amplified by PCR from a mouse cDNA library, and PCR products were subcloned into pCDNA3 (Invitrogen)-myc, and pEGFP-C1 (Clontech) vectors.

Northern blot analysis

A 300 base pair fragment of mouse APACD cDNA was radiolabelled using the Rediprime DNA Labeling System (Amersham Biosciences). Mouse Multiple Tissue Northern Blots (Clontech) were hybridized with the probe in ExpressHyb hybridization solution (Clontech) at 68 °C according to the manufacturer's protocol. The bands were visualized by autoradiography.

Immunoblotting analysis

Cells were harvested by scraping in hot 1 x SDS sample buffer, and the lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE, blotted to Immobilon-P membrane (Millipore), and detected using anti-myc (Santa Cruz) or anti-GFP antibody (Clontech).

Immunofluorescence of mammalian cells

Cells were fixed in 3.7% formaldehyde and then permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 10 min. The coverslips were washed with PBS and incubated with PBS containing 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 0.1% goat immunoglobulins (blocking buffer) for 30 min, and then stained with anti-myc antibody (Santa Cruz) and anti-{gamma}-tubulin antibody (Sigma) for overnight. After three washes with PBS, the cells were stained with the appropriate secondary antibody for 1 h at room temperature. Fluorescence microscopy was performed using a Zeiss Axiophot2 microscope.

Detection of the C05D11.3 mRNA

Total RNA was isolated from synchronized cultures by the guanidinium-acid-phenol-chloroform method. For RT-PCR using rTth DNA polymerase (TOYOBO), 1 mg RNA was used as the template. The oligo DNA primers used for C05D11.3 amplification were 5'-ATGGCCGCTAATATTCAACAGCAG-3' and 5'-CTACCAATCCTCTTCGTTATCGTAC-3', and those used for EF-1{alpha} (R03G5.1) were 5'-CATTGTCGTCATCGGACATGTCGACTCCGG-3' and 5'-TGGCTCGGTGGAGTCCATCTTGTTGCAAGC-3'. After reverse transcription for 30 min at 60 °C, the products were amplified with the following amplification profile for 40 cycles: denaturation for 1 min at 94 °C, annealing and extension for 1.5 min at 60 °C.

C.elegans culturing methods

Wild-type C. elegans strain N2 was cultured under standard conditions (Brenner 1974). To perform RNAi studies, the full-length cDNA of C05D11.3 was cloned into the vector L4440 (Timmons et al. 2001) and transformed into HT115 bacterial cells. Transformed bacteria were grown for 14 h at 37 °C in 2 mL LB supplemented with 50 µg/mL ampicillin. These cultures were plated on to standard worm plates containing 1 mM IPTG and 50 µg/mL ampicillin and allowed to grow overnight at room temperature. N2 larvae were then placed on to these plates and their offspring were examined after 48 h at 20 °C (Kamath et al. 2001). Embryos analysed by timelapse video microscopy were dissected in M9 medium from worms and placed on a 2% agarose pad with a coverslip mounted on top. Typically early development was analysed in wild-type and C05D11.3 RNAi-treated embryos from shortly after fertilization through two rounds of cell division (~40 min).

Analysis of C05D11.3::GFP-expressing animals

Living animals were immobilized with 10 mM levamisole in M9 buffer, mounted on a 4% agar pad and analysed with a Zeiss Axiophot2 microscope.

Immunofluorescence of C. elegans embryos

Gravid N2 adults were cut in a drop of M9 buffer (Sulston & Hodgkin 1988) containing 10 mM levamisole to release embryos. A coverslip was gently applied and the slide was frozen in liquid nitrogen. The coverslip was then removed and the slide was immediately immersed in cold (–20 °C) methanol for 5 min. Slides were air-dried for 5 min. Embryos were rehydrated in PBS-BSA (1%) for 30 min, and incubated in PBS-BSA (3%) with primary antibodies for 1 h. After three 10 min washes with PBS, secondary antibodies were applied in PBS-BSA (3%) for 1 h. Slides were washed with PBS and mounted in Mowiol (Calbiochem, La Jolla, USA; prepared as described by Harlow & Lane 1988). Nuclei were stained with DAPI. Dilutions of antibodies were 1 : 500 for monoclonal anti-{alpha}-tubulin antibody, clone DM1A (Sigma); 1: 2000 for affinity-purified anti-{gamma}-tubulin (Bobinnec et al. 2000). Microscopy was performed with a Zeiss Axiophot2 microscope.


    Acknowledgements
 
We thank Alan Coulson for the cosmid C05D11. We also thank S. Ookuma, K. Kano, Y. Hashimoto and other members of our laboratory for technical comments and helpful discussions. This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (to E.N.).


    Footnotes
 
Communicated by: Yoshimi Takai

* Correspondence: Email: L50174{at}sakura.kudpc.kyoto-u.ac.jp


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Experimental procedures
 References
 
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Received: 19 November 2003
Accepted: 5 December 2003




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