Published in Worm
The integrity of the cellular proteome is supported by quality control networks, which govern protein synthesis, folding, and degradation. It is generally accepted that an age-related decline in protein homeostasis (proteostasis) contributes to protein aggregation diseases. However, the mechanistic principles underlying proteostasis imbalance and t...
Published in Worm
In eukaryotic organisms, gene regulation occurs in the context of chromatin. In the interphase nucleus, euchromatin and heterochromatin occupy distinct space during cell differentiation, with heterochromatin becoming enriched at the nuclear and nucleolar peripheries. This organization is thought to fine-tune gene expression. To elucidate the mechan...
Published in Worm
C. elegans spe-9 class genes are male germline-enriched in their expression and indispensable during sperm-oocyte fusion. Identification of mammalian orthologs that exhibit similar functions to these C. elegans genes has been a challenge. The mouse Izumo1 gene encodes a sperm-specific, immunoglobulin (Ig)-like transmembrane (TM) protein that is req...
Published in Worm
The properties of cellular membranes are critical for most cellular functions and are influenced by several parameters including phospholipid composition, integral and peripheral membrane proteins, and environmental conditions such as temperature. We previously showed that the C. elegans paqr-2 and iglr-2 mutants have a defect in membrane homeostas...
Published in Worm
Post-embryonic development is governed by nutrient availability. L1 arrest, dauer formation and aging illustrate how starvation, anticipation of starvation and caloric restriction have profound influence on C. elegans development, respectively. Insulin-like signaling through the Forkhead box O transcription factor daf-16/FoxO regulates each of thes...
Published in Worm
Locomotion of C. elegans requires coordinated, efficient transmission of forces generated on the molecular scale by myosin and actin filaments in myocytes to dense bodies and the hypodermis and cuticle enveloping body wall muscles. The complex organization of the acto-myosin scaffold with its accessory proteins provides a fine-tuned machinery regul...
Published in Worm
Several intragenic mutations suppress the C. elegans isp-1(qm150) allele of the mitochondrial Rieske iron-sulfur protein (ISP), a catalytic subunit of Complex III of the respiratory chain. These mutations were located in a helical region of the "tether" span of ISP-1, distant from the primary mutation in the extrinsic head, and suppressed all pleio...
Published in Worm
Fatty acids and fatty acid-derived lipids (FAs/FADLs) play essential roles in many living organisms, including contributions to membrane structure and signaling transduction. Aberrant metabolism of FAs/FADLs often causes diseases and health problems. However, the detailed mechanistic studies of specific FAs/FADLs in vivo are limited. C. elegans has...
Published in Worm
Aging is accompanied by large-scale changes in the proteome, which could have important consequences for cellular and organismal physiology. In this commentary, we review recent studies characterizing the aging proteome in C. elegans. We assess the evidence that the rates of protein synthesis, folding, and degradation change with age in C. elegans,...
Published in Worm
The ELT-2 GATA factor is the predominant transcription factor regulating gene expression in the C. elegans intestine, following endoderm specification. We comment on our previous study (Wiesenfahrt et al., 2016) that investigated how the elt-2 gene is controlled by END-1, END-3 and ELT-7, the 3 endoderm specific GATA factors that lie upstream in th...
