Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Expression of gamma-tubulin during the development of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Molecular Biology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gamma-tubulin is a centrosomal protein found in microtubule organizing centres (MTOCs) in cells from many different organisms, and has several properties, which makes it a candidate for both the initiation of microtubule assembly and anchorage. Gamma-tubulin is encoded by a single gene tbg-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. In this paper tbg-1 was studied to understand the essential role of gamma-tubulin in C. elegans. Essential role of tbg-1 expression was confirmed by the disruption of the gene expression by gamma-tubulin anti-sense RNA production in vivo under the heat shock promoter that caused lethality in the nematodes. Expression of tbg-1 deduced from Northern blot analysis during the development revealed differential expression in different developmental stages. Using tbg-1::lacZ fusion gene expression studies in the germ line transformed worms, it was further revealed that gamma-tubulin expression was observed through out the development from embryonic and post-embryonic stages.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Oakley CE, Oakley BR (1989) Identification of gamma tubulin, a new member of the tubulin superfamily encoded by mipA gene of Aspergillus nidulans. Nature 338:662–664

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Heidmann SR, McIntosh JR (1980) Visualization of the structural polarity of microtubules. Nature 286:517–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Gorbsky GJ (1992) Chromosome motion in mitosis. Bioessay 14:73–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Avila J (1992) Microtubule functions. Life Sciences 50:327–334

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kalt A, Schliwa M (1993) Molecular components of the centrosome. Trends Cell Biol 3:118–128

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Srayko M, Kaya A, Stamford J, Hyman AA (2005) Identification and characterization of factors required for microtubule growth and nucleation in the early C. elegans embryo. Dev Cell 2:223–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kirkham M, Muller-Reichert T, Oegema K, Grill S, Hyman AA (2003) SAS-4 is a C. elegans centriolar protein that controls centrosome size. Cell 112:575–587

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Horio T, Uzawa S, Jung MK, Oakley BR, Tanaka K, Yanagida M (1991) Fission yeast gamma tubulin is essential for mitosis and is localized at microtubule organizing centers. J Cell Sci 99:693–700

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Joshi HC, Placios MC, McNamara L, Clevaland DW (1992) Gamma tubulin is a centrosomal protein required for cell cycle dependent microtubule nucleation. Nature 356:80–82

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Oakley BR, Oakley CE, Yoon Y, Jung MK (1990) Gamma tubulin is a component of the spindle pole body that is essential for microtubule function in Aspergillus nidulans. Cell 61:1289–1301

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Stearns T, Evans L, Kirschner M (1991) Gamma tubulin is a highly conserved component of the centrosome. Cell 65:825–836

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. C. elegans Sequencing Consortium (1998) Genome sequence of the nematode C. elegans: a platform for investigating biology. Science 282:2012–2018

    Google Scholar 

  13. Strome S, Powers J, Dunn M, Reese K, Malone CJ, White J, Seydoux G, Saxton W (2001) Spindle dynamics and the role of gamma-tubulin in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. Mol Biol Cell 6:1751–1764

    Google Scholar 

  14. Zorio DAR, Cheng NN, Blumenthal T, Speith J (1994) Operons as a common form of chromosomal organization in C. elegans. Nature 372:270–272

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Brenner S (1974) The genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 77:1–94

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sambrook J, Fritsch EF, Maniatis T (1989) Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual, 2nd edn. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sulston JE, Hodgkin J (1988) The methods. In: Wood WB (ed.) The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

    Google Scholar 

  18. Tabish M, Clegg RA, Rees HH, Fisher MJ (1999) Organization and alternative splicing of the Caenorhabditis elegans cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic-subunit gene (kin-1). Biochem J 339:209–216

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Fire A, Albertson D, Harrison SW, Moermann DG (1991) Production of antisense RNA leads to effective and specific inhibition of gene expression in C. elegans muscles. Development 113:503–514

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Fire A (1986) Integrative transformation of Caenorhabitis elegans. EMBO J 5:2673–2680

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Fire A, Harrison SW, Dixon D (1990) A modular set of lacZ fusion vectors for studying gene expression in C. elegans. Gene 93:189–198

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Tabish M, Siddiqui ZK, Nishikawa K, Siddiqui SS (1995) Exclusive expression of C. elegans osm-3 kinesin gene in chemosensory neurons open to the external environment. J Mol Biol 247:377–389

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Kramer JM, French RP, Park E, Johnson JJ (1990) The C. elegans rol-6 gene encodes a collagen critical for organismal morphogenesis. Mol Cell Biol 10:2081–2090

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Fire A (1992) Histochemical techniques for locating E. coli beta-galactosidase activity in transgenic organisms. Gene Anal Tech Appl 9:151–158

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Fraser AG, Kamath RS, Zipperlen P, Matrinez-Campos M, Sohrmann M, Ahringer J (2000) Functional genomic analysis of C. elegans chromosome I by systematic RNA interference. Nature 408:325–330

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kamath RS, Fraser AG, Dong Y, Poulin G, Durbin R, Gotta M, Kanapin A, Bot NL, Moreno S, Sohrmann M, Welchman DP, Zipperlen P, Ahringer J (2003) Systematic functional analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome using RNAi. Nature 421:231–237

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Cannon M, Platz J, O’Leary M, Sookdew C, Cannon F (1990) Organ-specific modulation of gene expression in transgenic plants using antisense RNA. Plant Mol Biol 15:39–47

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Bobinnec Y, Fukuda M, Nishida E (2000) Identification and characterization of Caenorhabditis elegans gamma-tubulin in dividing cells and differentiated tissues. J Cell Sci 113:3747–3759

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Bass PW, Joshi HC (1992) Gamma tubulin distribution in neuron: implications for the origins of neuritic microtubules. J Cell Biol 119:171–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science of Japan. Author is thankful to Toyohashi University of Technology for providing the necessary facilities during this project. Thanks are also due to Drs. S. S. Siddiqui and Z. K. Siddiqui for their help during this project.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Mohammad Tabish

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, A. M. University, Aligarh, UP, 202 002, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Material System Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi-Shi, Aichi-441, Japan

    Mohammad Tabish

Authors
  1. Mohammad Tabish
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Tabish.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tabish, M. Expression of gamma-tubulin during the development of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . Mol Biol Rep 34, 233–240 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-006-9038-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-006-9038-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation