Oskar controls morphology of polar granules and nuclear bodies in<i>Drosophila</i>

Jones, Jennifer R.; Macdonald, Paul M.

doi:10.1242/dev.02729

Cited by 29 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The former two resembled nuclear germ granules described in PGCs (Fig. 2B, Ci)(Jones and Macdonald, 2007; Mahowald, 1962; Mahowald et al, 1976), while the latter were observed only in S2R+cells. Importantly, the formation of these granules depended on Short Osk and not on the mCherry fluorophore or the orientation of the fluorescent tag, as N- and C-terminally-tagged Short Osk formed the same granules (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

“…As with cytoplasmic germ granules, we could not detected fusion of nuclear germ granules. Nuclear granules did not result from over-expression of Osk:GFP or Vasa:KuOr since they have been previously observed in wild-type flies using EM and immunofluorescence(Jones and Macdonald, 2007; Mahowald, 1962; Mahowald et al, 1976). Because nuclear granules formed only in PGCs (Fig.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

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Phase Transitioned Nuclear Oskar Promotes Cell Division of Drosophila Primordial Germ Cells

Kistler

Trcek²,

Hurd³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Germ granules are non-membranous ribonucleoprotein granules deemed the hubs for post-transcriptional gene regulation and functionally linked to germ cell fate across species. Little is known about the physical properties of germ granules and how these relate to germ cell function. Here we study two types of germ granules in the Drosophila embryo: cytoplasmic germ granules that instruct primordial germ cells (PGCs) formation and nuclear germ granules within early PGCs with unknown function. We show that cytoplasmic and nuclear germ granules are phase transitioned condensates nucleated by Oskar protein that display liquid as well as hydrogel-like properties. Focusing on nuclear granules, we find that Oskar drives their formation in heterologous cell systems.Multiple, independent Oskar protein domains synergize to promote granule phase separation. Deletion of Oskar's nuclear localization sequence specifically ablates nuclear granules in cell systems. In the embryo, nuclear germ granules promote germ cell divisions thereby increasing PGC number for the next generation.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 58%

Phase Transitioned Nuclear Oskar Promotes Cell Division of Drosophila Primordial Germ Cells

Kistler

Trcek²,

Hurd³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…It has been shown that even among species in the Drosophila genus, germ granule morphology and size is variable [25]. Later studies showed that the differences were due to species-specific properties of Osk proteins [26]. Changes in Osk protein can also lead more drastic changes in the protein’s function.…”

Section: Evolution Of Oskar and The Origins Of Maternal Provision Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of insect germline specification strategies

Quan

Lynch

2016

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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The establishment of the germline is essential for sexually reproducing organisms. In animals, there are two major strategies to specify the germline: maternal provision and zygotic induction. The molecular basis of the maternal provision mode has been well characterized in several model organisms (fly, frog, fish, and nematode), while that of the zygotic induction mode has mainly been studied in mammalian models such as the mouse. Shifts in germline determination modes occur unexpectedly frequently and many such shifts have occurred several times among insects. Given their general tractability and rapidly increasing genomic and genetic tools applicable to many species, the insects present a uniquely powerful model system for understanding major transitions in reproductive strategies, and developmental processes in general.

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“…Osk is the pivotal organizer which anchors other granule components and controls granule morphology [9], [28]. Based mainly on the normal localization of Vas in tud embryos and the defective localization of Tud in vas embryos [18], [19], a pathway for pole plasm assembly has been proposed in which tud acts downstream of vas (see, for example, [29]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeting and Anchoring Tudor in the Pole Plasm of the Drosophila Oocyte

Anne

2010

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundGermline formation is a highly regulated process in all organisms. In Drosophila embryos germ cells are specified by the pole plasm, a specialized cytoplasmic region containing polar granules. Components of these granules are also present in the perinuclear ring surrounding nurse cells, the nuage. Two such molecules are the Vasa and Tudor proteins. How Tudor localizes and is maintained in the pole plasm is, however, not known.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, the process of Tudor localization in nuage and pole plasm was analyzed. The initial positioning of Tudor at the posterior pole of stage 9 oocytes was found to occur in the absence of a structurally detectable nuage. However, in mutants for genes encoding components of the nuage, including vasa, aubergine, maelstrom, and krimper, Tudor was detached from the posterior cortex in stage 10 oocytes, suggesting a prior passage in the nuage for its stability in the pole plasm. Further studies indicated that Valois, which was previously shown to bind in vitro to Tudor, mediates the localization of Tudor in the pole plasm by physically interacting with Oskar, the polar granule organizer. An association between Tudor and Vasa mediated by RNA was also detected in ovarian extracts.Conclusions/SignificanceThe present data challenge the view that the assembly of the polar granules occurs in a stepwise and hierarchical manner and, consequently, a revised model of polar granule assembly is proposed. In this model Oskar recruits two downstream components of the polar granules, Vasa and Tudor, independently from each other: Vasa directly interacts with Oskar while Valois mediates the recruitment of Tudor by interacting with Oskar and Tudor.

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Oskar controls morphology of polar granules and nuclear bodies inDrosophila

Cited by 29 publications

References 25 publications

Phase Transitioned Nuclear Oskar Promotes Cell Division of Drosophila Primordial Germ Cells

Phase Transitioned Nuclear Oskar Promotes Cell Division of Drosophila Primordial Germ Cells

The evolution of insect germline specification strategies

Targeting and Anchoring Tudor in the Pole Plasm of the Drosophila Oocyte

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