Determining the sub-cellular localization of proteins within Caenorhabditis elegans body wall muscle

PLoS One. 2011;6(5):e19937. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019937. Epub 2011 May 17.

Abstract

Determining the sub-cellular localization of a protein within a cell is often an essential step towards understanding its function. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the relatively large size of the body wall muscle cells and the exquisite organization of their sarcomeres offer an opportunity to identify the precise position of proteins within cell substructures. Our goal in this study is to generate a comprehensive "localizome" for C. elegans body wall muscle by GFP-tagging proteins expressed in muscle and determining their location within the cell. For this project, we focused on proteins that we know are expressed in muscle and are orthologs or at least homologs of human proteins. To date we have analyzed the expression of about 227 GFP-tagged proteins that show localized expression in the body wall muscle of this nematode (e.g. dense bodies, M-lines, myofilaments, mitochondria, cell membrane, nucleus or nucleolus). For most proteins analyzed in this study no prior data on sub-cellular localization was available. In addition to discrete sub-cellular localization we observe overlapping patterns of localization including the presence of a protein in the dense body and the nucleus, or the dense body and the M-lines. In total we discern more than 14 sub-cellular localization patterns within nematode body wall muscle. The localization of this large set of proteins within a muscle cell will serve as an invaluable resource in our investigation of muscle sarcomere assembly and function.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Genome / genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mitochondrial Proteins / metabolism
  • Muscles / cytology
  • Muscles / metabolism*
  • Open Reading Frames / genetics
  • Phenotype
  • Protein Transport
  • RNA Interference
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Subcellular Fractions / metabolism

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Mitochondrial Proteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins