Click
here to close Hello! We notice that
you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Echinobase
and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a
current version of Chrome,
FireFox,
or Safari.
???displayArticle.abstract??? Vasa is a DEAD-box RNA helicase that functions in translational regulation of specific mRNAs. In many animals it is essential for germ line development and may have a more general stem cell role. Here we identify vasa in two sea urchin species and analyze the regulation of its expression. We find that vasa protein accumulates in only a subset of cells containing vasa mRNA. In contrast to vasa mRNA, which is present uniformly throughout all cells of the early embryo, vasa protein accumulates selectively in the 16-cell stage micromeres, and then is restricted to the small micromeres through gastrulation to larval development. Manipulating early embryonic fate specification by blastomere separations, exposure to lithium, and dominant-negative cadherin each suggest that, although vasa protein accumulation in the small micromeres is fixed, accumulation in other cells of the embryo is inducible. Indeed, we find that embryos in which micromeres are removed respond by significant up-regulation of vasa protein translation, followed by spatial restriction of the protein late in gastrulation. Overall, these results support the contention that sea urchins do not have obligate primordial germ cells determined in early development, that vasa may function in an early stem cell population of the embryo, and that vasa expression in this embryo is restricted early by translational regulation to the small micromere lineage.
Agata,
Two different evolutionary origins of stem cell systems and their molecular basis.
2006, Pubmed
Agata,
Two different evolutionary origins of stem cell systems and their molecular basis.
2006,
Pubmed Braat,
Vasa protein expression and localization in the zebrafish.
2000,
Pubmed Castagnetti,
Control of oskar mRNA translation by Bruno in a novel cell-free system from Drosophila ovaries.
2000,
Pubmed Chang,
Germ line development in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria: vasa as a marker.
2002,
Pubmed Extavour,
Mechanisms of germ cell specification across the metazoans: epigenesis and preformation.
2003,
Pubmed Fujii,
Developmental expression of HpNanos, the Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus homologue of nanos.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Fujimura,
Characterization of an ascidian DEAD-box gene, Ci-DEAD1: specific expression in the germ cells and its mRNA localization in the posterior-most blastomeres in early embryos.
2000,
Pubmed Hayashi,
Germ cell specification in mice.
2007,
Pubmed Johnson,
Regulative germ cell specification in axolotl embryos: a primitive trait conserved in the mammalian lineage.
2003,
Pubmed Johnstone,
Interaction with eIF5B is essential for Vasa function during development.
2004,
Pubmed Juliano,
Germ line determinants are not localized early in sea urchin development, but do accumulate in the small micromere lineage.
2006,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Kim-Ha,
Translational regulation of oskar mRNA by bruno, an ovarian RNA-binding protein, is essential.
1995,
Pubmed Knaut,
An evolutionary conserved region in the vasa 3'UTR targets RNA translation to the germ cells in the zebrafish.
2002,
Pubmed Komiya,
Isolation and characterization of a novel gene of the DEAD box protein family which is specifically expressed in germ cells of Xenopus laevis.
1994,
Pubmed Kurihara,
Developmental potential of small micromeres in sea urchin embryos.
2005,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Laidlaw,
Cortical granule biogenesis is active throughout oogenesis in sea urchins.
1994,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Lasko,
The product of the Drosophila gene vasa is very similar to eukaryotic initiation factor-4A.
1988,
Pubmed Letunic,
SMART 5: domains in the context of genomes and networks.
2006,
Pubmed Linder,
Bent out of shape: RNA unwinding by the DEAD-box helicase Vasa.
2006,
Pubmed Logan,
Nuclear beta-catenin is required to specify vegetal cell fates in the sea urchin embryo.
1999,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase MacArthur,
DEADSouth is a germ plasm specific DEAD-box RNA helicase in Xenopus related to eIF4A.
2000,
Pubmed Mahowald,
Assembly of the Drosophila germ plasm.
2001,
Pubmed Minokawa,
Expression patterns of four different regulatory genes that function during sea urchin development.
2004,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Mochizuki,
Universal occurrence of the vasa-related genes among metazoans and their germline expression in Hydra.
2001,
Pubmed Mochizuki,
Expression and evolutionary conservation of nanos-related genes in Hydra.
2000,
Pubmed Nakamura,
Drosophila cup is an eIF4E binding protein that associates with Bruno and regulates oskar mRNA translation in oogenesis.
2004,
Pubmed Oliveri,
A regulatory gene network that directs micromere specification in the sea urchin embryo.
2002,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Oliveri,
Activation of pmar1 controls specification of micromeres in the sea urchin embryo.
2003,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Pehrson,
The fate of the small micromeres in sea urchin development.
1986,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Ransick,
New early zygotic regulators expressed in endomesoderm of sea urchin embryos discovered by differential array hybridization.
2002,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Ransick,
Postembryonic segregation of the germ line in sea urchins in relation to indirect development.
1996,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Rebscher,
Vasa unveils a common origin of germ cells and of somatic stem cells from the posterior growth zone in the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii.
2007,
Pubmed Revilla-i-Domingo,
A missing link in the sea urchin embryo gene regulatory network: hesC and the double-negative specification of micromeres.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Riechmann,
Axis formation during Drosophila oogenesis.
2001,
Pubmed Sengoku,
Structural basis for RNA unwinding by the DEAD-box protein Drosophila Vasa.
2006,
Pubmed Seydoux,
Pathway to totipotency: lessons from germ cells.
2006,
Pubmed Shibata,
Expression of vasa(vas)-related genes in germline cells and totipotent somatic stem cells of planarians.
1999,
Pubmed Styhler,
VASA localization requires the SPRY-domain and SOCS-box containing protein, GUSTAVUS.
2002,
Pubmed Styhler,
vasa is required for GURKEN accumulation in the oocyte, and is involved in oocyte differentiation and germline cyst development.
1998,
Pubmed Takamura,
Primordial germ cells originate from the endodermal strand cells in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.
2002,
Pubmed Tam,
The allocation of epiblast cells to ectodermal and germ-line lineages is influenced by the position of the cells in the gastrulating mouse embryo.
1996,
Pubmed Tanaka,
The mouse homolog of Drosophila Vasa is required for the development of male germ cells.
2000,
Pubmed Tanaka,
Study of the Lineage and Cell Cycle of Small Micromeres in Embryos of the Sea Urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus: (small micromeres/cell cycle/cell lineage/unequal cleavage/sea urchin).
1990,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Toyooka,
Expression and intracellular localization of mouse Vasa-homologue protein during germ cell development.
2000,
Pubmed Voronina,
Cyclin B synthesis is required for sea urchin oocyte maturation.
2003,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Webster,
Translational repressor bruno plays multiple roles in development and is widely conserved.
1997,
Pubmed Wessel,
A molecular analysis of hyalin--a substrate for cell adhesion in the hyaline layer of the sea urchin embryo.
1998,
Pubmed
,
Echinobase Yan,
Genetic interactions of Drosophila melanogaster arrest reveal roles for translational repressor Bruno in accumulation of Gurken and activity of Delta.
2004,
Pubmed Yoon,
Zebrafish vasa homologue RNA is localized to the cleavage planes of 2- and 4-cell-stage embryos and is expressed in the primordial germ cells.
1997,
Pubmed
