Conditional Knockouts Generated by Engineered CRISPR-Cas9 Endonuclease Reveal the Roles of Coronin in C. elegans Neural Development

Shen, Zhongfu; Zhang, Xianliang; Chai, Yunpeng; Zhu, Zhiwen; Yi, Peishan; Feng, Guoying; Li, Wei; Ou, Guangshuo

doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2014.07.017

Cited by 138 publications

(159 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…From these observations, we conclude that Thr412Gly-CePheRS is the best aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase candidate for cell-selective labeling in C. elegans. Although we generated transgenic C. elegans by DNA injection into the syncytial germ line in this work, inducible or cellselective genome editing technologies could be used to quickly and efficiently generate transgenic animals because a single mutation in CePheRS is sufficient for Azf activity (11).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cell-specific proteomic analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Yuet¹,

Doma

Ngo³

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Proteomic analysis of rare cells in heterogeneous environments presents difficult challenges. Systematic methods are needed to enrich, identify, and quantify proteins expressed in specific cells in complex biological systems including multicellular plants and animals. Here, we have engineered a Caenorhabditis elegans phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase capable of tagging proteins with the reactive noncanonical amino acid p-azido-L-phenylalanine. We achieved spatiotemporal selectivity in the labeling of C. elegans proteins by controlling expression of the mutant synthetase using cell-selective (body wall muscles, intestinal epithelial cells, neurons, and pharyngeal muscle) or state-selective (heat-shock) promoters in several transgenic lines. Tagged proteins are distinguished from the rest of the protein pool through bioorthogonal conjugation of the azide side chain to probes that permit visualization and isolation of labeled proteins. By coupling our methodology with stable-isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), we successfully profiled proteins expressed in pharyngeal muscle cells, and in the process, identified proteins not previously known to be expressed in these cells. Our results show that tagging proteins with spatiotemporal selectivity can be achieved in C. elegans and illustrate a convenient and effective approach for unbiased discovery of proteins expressed in targeted subsets of cells.click chemistry | protein engineering | proteomics | cell-specific protein expression | nematode pharyngeal muscle I n a complex eukaryote like Caenorhabditis elegans, cell heterogeneity restricts the usefulness of large-scale, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis. Enriching for specific cells is challenging, and researchers cannot systematically identify low-abundance proteins expressed in specific cells from wholeorganism lysates. Cell-selective bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (cell-selective BONCAT) offers a way to overcome these limitations (1, 2). We have previously engineered a family of mutant Escherichia coli methionyl-tRNA synthetases (MetRSs) capable of appending the azide-bearing L-methionine (Met) analog L-azidonorleucine (Anl) to its cognate tRNA in competition with Met (3, 4). Because Anl is a poor substrate for any of the natural aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, it is excluded from proteins made in wild-type cells but is incorporated readily into proteins made in cells that express an appropriately engineered MetRS. Controlling expression of mutant MetRSs by expression only in specific cells restricts Anl labeling to proteins produced in those cells. Tagged proteins can be distinguished from the rest of the protein pool through bioorthogonal conjugation of the azide side chain to alkynyl or cyclooctynyl probes that permit facile detection, isolation, and visualization of labeled proteins. This strategy has been used to selectively enrich microbial proteins from mixtures of bacterial and mammalian cells. For example, Ngo et al. (5) found that proteins made in an E. coli strain outf...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cell-specific proteomic analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Yuet¹,

Doma

Ngo³

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Guide RNA sequences: vab-15, 5′-GTGAATGTTGCATAGACAG-3′; pax-3, 5′-GTCGTGTTAAC-CAACTCGG-3′; ref-2, 5′-CTTGGGCTGGAAGAAAGTG-3′. These sequences were cloned into the vector pOG2306 (47). Each vector was injected into worms mixed with the Pmyo-2::GFP coinjection marker.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Somatic knockout. Somatic KO was conducted as described (47). Guide RNA sequences: vab-15, 5′-GTGAATGTTGCATAGACAG-3′; pax-3, 5′-GTCGTGTTAAC-CAACTCGG-3′; ref-2, 5′-CTTGGGCTGGAAGAAAGTG-3′.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conserved gene regulatory module specifies lateral neural borders across bilaterians

Zhao

Horie

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The lateral neural plate border (NPB), the neural part of the vertebrate neural border, is composed of central nervous system (CNS) progenitors and peripheral nervous system (PNS) progenitors. In invertebrates, PNS progenitors are also juxtaposed to the lateral boundary of the CNS. Whether there are conserved molecular mechanisms determining vertebrate and invertebrate lateral neural borders remains unclear. Using single-cell-resolution gene-expression profiling and genetic analysis, we present evidence that orthologs of the NPB specification module specify the invertebrate lateral neural border, which is composed of CNS and PNS progenitors. First, like in vertebrates, the conserved neuroectoderm lateral border specifier Msx/vab-15 specifies lateral neuroblasts in Caenorhabditis elegans. Second, orthologs of the vertebrate NPB specification module (Msx/vab-15, Pax3/7/pax-3, and Zic/ref-2) are significantly enriched in worm lateral neuroblasts. In addition, like in other bilaterians, the expression domain of Msx/vab-15 is more lateral than those of Pax3/7/pax-3 and Zic/ref-2 in C. elegans. Third, we show that Msx/vab-15 regulates the development of mechanosensory neurons derived from lateral neural progenitors in multiple invertebrate species, including C. elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Ciona intestinalis. We also identify a novel lateral neural border specifier, ZNF703/tlp-1, which functions synergistically with Msx/vab-15 in both C. elegans and Xenopus laevis. These data suggest a common origin of the molecular mechanism specifying lateral neural borders across bilaterians.C. elegans | neural plate border | neural border | Msx/vab-15 | ZNF703/tlp-1 T he vertebrate neural border is a transient embryonic domain located between the neural plate and nonneurogenic ectoderm from late gastrulation to early neurulation. The neural border is composed of the lateral neural plate border (NPB) and preplacode ectoderm (PPE) subdomains (1, 2). The NPB and PPE give rise to the neural crest and placode, respectively, both of which undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition/delamination, migrate in prototypical paths, and give rise to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and many other cell types (3, 4). However, the NPB and PPE also have many different features (5). For example, the PPE is confined to the anterior half of embryos and does not contribute to the central nervous system (CNS), whereas the NPB is the lateral border of the whole neural plate and consists not only of progenitors for the PNS but also those for the CNS in the dorsal neural tube. The juxtaposed localization of the CNS neuroectoderm and PNS progenitors also occurs in the trunk of invertebrate embryos such as nematodes, arthropods, annelids, and urochordates (6-9), reminiscent of vertebrate NPB. In Caenorhabditis elegans, lateral neuroblasts (P, Q, and V5 cells) are located between the embryonic CNS and skin from the birth of these cells (10). In addition, worm lateral neuroblasts possess several key cellular and developmental features of vertebra...

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“…The initial report describing the successful use of Cas9 in C. elegans demonstrated a range of editing frequencies from 0.5 to 80%, with only two targets exceeding 4% . Subsequent publications also reported variably low mutagenesis rates that required molecular screening of hundreds of animals or required the desired mutation to cause an easily detectable mutant phenotype or to be introduced in tandem with a coselection marker (Chiu et al 2013;Cho et al 2013;Dickinson et al 2013;Katic and Grosshans 2013;Lo et al 2013;Tzur et al 2013;Waaijers et al 2013;Chen et al 2014;Liu et al 2014;Paix et al 2014;Shen et al 2014;Zhao et al 2014). More recent studies greatly improved the odds of detecting a targeted mutation through the simultaneous co-conversion of a mutation in an unrelated target that causes a visible phenotype (Arribere et al 2014;Kim et al 2014;Ward 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

Dramatic Enhancement of Genome Editing by CRISPR/Cas9 Through Improved Guide RNA Design

Farboud¹,

2015

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Success with genome editing by the RNA-programmed nuclease Cas9 has been limited by the inability to predict effective guide RNAs and DNA target sites. Not all guide RNAs have been successful, and even those that were, varied widely in their efficacy. Here we describe and validate a strategy for Caenorhabditis elegans that reliably achieved a high frequency of genome editing for all targets tested in vivo. The key innovation was to design guide RNAs with a GG motif at the 39 end of their target-specific sequences. All guides designed using this simple principle induced a high frequency of targeted mutagenesis via nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and a high frequency of precise DNA integration from exogenous DNA templates via homology-directed repair (HDR). Related guide RNAs having the GG motif shifted by only three nucleotides showed severely reduced or no genome editing. We also combined the 39 GG guide improvement with a co-CRISPR/co-conversion approach. For this co-conversion scheme, animals were only screened for genome editing at designated targets if they exhibited a dominant phenotype caused by Cas9-dependent editing of an unrelated target. Combining the two strategies further enhanced the ease of mutant recovery, thereby providing a powerful means to obtain desired genetic changes in an otherwise unaltered genome. KEYWORDS CRISPR; Cas9; genome editing; co-conversion; C. elegans T HE use of site-specific nucleases with programmable target specificity has transformed the art of genome editing and thereby revolutionized the dissection and manipulation of genome function (reviewed in Mali et al. 2013;Carroll 2014;Doudna and Charpentier 2014;Hsu et al. 2014). Most widely used is the CRISPR-associated nuclease Cas9, whose RNA-programmed DNA cleaving activities create DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). These DSBs can be repaired imprecisely by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) to generate random insertions and deletions or repaired precisely by homology-directed repair (HDR) templated from exogenous DNA to generate custom-designed insertions, deletions, or substitutions (Gasiunas et al. 2012;Jinek et al. 2012;Cong et al. 2013;Jinek et al. 2013;Mali et al. 2013). Modified variants of Cas9 that lack DNA cleaving activity have also been utilized to regulate transcription of designated gene targets and to cytologically mark and track genomic loci in living cells (Bikard et al. 2013;Chen et al. 2013;Larson et al. 2013;Maeder et al. 2013;Perez-Pinera et al. 2013;Qi et al. 2013;Gilbert et al. 2014;Tanenbaum et al. 2014).The Cas9 protein is targeted to a specific genomic locus by a guide RNA that encodes a 20-nt region of homology to the DNA target ( Figure 1A) (Mojica et al. 2009;Garneau et al. 2010;Jinek et al. 2012). The most commonly used guide RNAs are chimeric fusions between the CRISPR RNA (crRNA), which encodes the 20-nt target-specific sequence, and the tracer RNA (trRNA), which enables the formation of active Cas9-guide RNA complexes ( Figure 1A) (Jinek et al. 2012). Few constraints are known for Cas9 ...

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Conditional Knockouts Generated by Engineered CRISPR-Cas9 Endonuclease Reveal the Roles of Coronin in C. elegans Neural Development

Cited by 138 publications

References 44 publications

Cell-specific proteomic analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Cell-specific proteomic analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Conserved gene regulatory module specifies lateral neural borders across bilaterians

Dramatic Enhancement of Genome Editing by CRISPR/Cas9 Through Improved Guide RNA Design

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