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Resources » Paper

Zellag, Reda M. et al. (2021) International Worm Meeting "Deciphering the mechanism of mitotic spindle orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells"

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  • Comments on Zellag, Reda M. et al. (2021) International Worm Meeting "Deciphering the mechanism of mitotic spindle orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells" (0)

  • Overview

    Status:
    Publication type:
    Meeting_abstract
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00063002

    Zellag, Reda M., Zhao, Yifan, Poupart, Vincent, Singh, Ramya, Labbe, Jean-Claude, & Gerhold, Abigail R. (2021). Deciphering the mechanism of mitotic spindle orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    Tissue-resident stem cells contribute to tissue development, homeostasis and repair in response to signals from a specialized microenvironment termed the niche. We are using Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells (GSCs), which are distinctly accessible for intravital imaging, as a model to elucidate how the interactions between stem cells, their niche and their tissue of residence regulate their division in situ. The orientation of cell division is controlled by the mitotic spindle and determines the position, and potentially the fate, of GSCs within the germline. However, the mechanisms that regulate mitotic spindle orientation in GSCs are not well known. Deciphering these mechanisms requires live-imaging of GSCs under physiological conditions. We have carried out a systematic investigation into the technical factors that impact GSC physiology during live imaging and have determined an optimized protocol for monitoring GSC divisions under minimally disruptive conditions. To permit large-scale analysis of spindle dynamics during GSC mitosis, we constructed CentTracker, an automated analysis tool, based on tracking and pairing of centrosomes, which allows a variety of mitotic parameters, including mitotic spindle orientation, to be rapidly assessed, and which is adaptable to other cell types in C. elegans and in other organisms. Analysis of a large dataset of dividing GSCs, indicated that GSCs have a strong spindle orientation bias towards the gonadal axis, that persists throughout mitosis, but do not exhibit spindle dynamics consistent with asymmetric cell division. We hypothesize that underlying cell or tissue anisotropies contribute to GSC spindle orientation and we are using CentTracker to identify and characterize these regulators. This work will contribute to our understanding of how GSCs are positioned within the germline during cell division, which may have implications for both GSC self-renewal and germline tissue organization.

    Affiliations:
    - McGill University
    - Universite de Montreal
    - Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology


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