Department of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
![]() |
Abstract |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
Dyneins are microtubule-based molecular motors involved in many different types of cell movement. Most dynein heavy chains (DHCs) clearly group into cytoplasmic or axonemal isoforms. However, DHC1b has been enigmatic. To learn more about this isoform, we isolated Chlamydomonas cDNA clones encoding a portion of DHC1b, and used these clones to identify a Chlamydomonas cell line with a deletion mutation in DHC1b. The mutant grows normally and appears to have a normal Golgi apparatus, but has very short flagella. The deletion also results in a massive redistribution of raft subunits from a peri-basal body pool (Cole, D.G., D.R. Diener, A.L. Himelblau, P.L. Beech, J.C. Fuster, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1998. J. Cell Biol. 141:993-1008) to the flagella. Rafts are particles that normally move up and down the flagella in a process known as intraflagellar transport (IFT) (Kozminski, K.G., K.A. Johnson, P. Forscher, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1993. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 90:5519-5523), which is essential for assembly and maintenance of flagella. The redistribution of raft subunits apparently occurs due to a defect in the retrograde component of IFT, suggesting that DHC1b is the motor for retrograde IFT. Consistent with this, Western blots indicate that DHC1b is present in the flagellum, predominantly in the detergent- and ATP-soluble fractions. These results indicate that DHC1b is a cytoplasmic dynein essential for flagellar assembly, probably because it is the motor for retrograde IFT.
Key words: cytoplasmic dynein; intraflagellar transport; flagella; cilia; Chlamydomonas ![]() |
Introduction |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
DYNEINS use the hydrolysis of ATP to produce force
within cells to carry out a wide variety of diverse
activities, including ciliary and flagellar beating,
axonal transport, vesicle and organelle movement, and
alignment and maintenance of the mitotic spindle. Ciliated
organisms from algae to mammals have ~15 different dynein heavy chain (DHC)1 isoforms (Gibbons et al., 1994;
Tanaka et al., 1995
; Porter et al., 1996
). Most of these isoforms can be grouped into three distinct classes: cytoplasmic dynein, axonemal outer arm dynein, and axonemal inner arm dynein. However, one isoform, DHC1b (also
known as DHC2 in mammals), has been enigmatic. In
phylogenetic analyses of DHC sequences, this isoform diverges from the trunk at a position nearly equidistant between the cytoplasmic and axonemal forms (Gibbons,
1995
; Gibbons et al., 1994
; Tanaka et al., 1995
; Vaisberg et al.,
1996
). Expression of DHC1b is upregulated during cilia regeneration in sea urchin embryos (Gibbons, 1995
; Gibbons et al., 1994
). This pattern is similar to that of the axonemal dyneins, but differs from that of the conventional
cytoplasmic DHC isoform (termed DHC1a), which is not
upregulated during ciliary regeneration. These results
raised the question of whether DHC1b is a specialized cytoplasmic dynein that plays a role in ciliary assembly, or a true axonemal dynein whose sequence simply resembles
that of cytoplasmic dynein.
More recently, it was reported that DHC1b was expressed in all rat tissues examined, including tissues that
produce no motile cilia or flagella (Criswell et al., 1996).
Using immunofluorescence microscopy and an isotype-specific antibody, DHC1b was found to be concentrated in
the apical regions of the cytoplasm of ciliated rat tracheal
epithelial (RTE) cells, but was not detected in cilia. It was
concluded that DHC1b is a cytoplasmic dynein that participates in intracellular trafficking in polarized cells. DHC1b
also is expressed in HeLa cells and COS cells, which do
not form motile cilia (Vaisberg et al., 1996
). In the latter
study, an antibody to DHC1b localized predominantly to
the Golgi apparatus, and microinjection of the antibody
caused dispersion of the Golgi complex. It was concluded
that DHC1b played a role in the organization and/or function of the Golgi apparatus.
The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is an excellent model system to study the function of dynein isoforms. We recently identified a Chlamydomonas mutant
with a defect in the 8-kD dynein light chain (LC8) (Pazour
et al., 1998) that is a component of cytoplasmic dynein,
outer arm dynein, and the inner arm dynein I1 (King and
Patel-King, 1995
; King et al., 1996
; Harrison et al., 1998
).
This mutant has short flagella that lack the retrograde component of intraflagellar transport (IFT). IFT is the
movement of particles, rafts, from the base to the tip of the
flagellum, and back, just beneath the flagellar membrane
(Kozminski et al., 1993
, 1995
). Movement of rafts in the
anterograde direction, i.e., from the base to the tip of the
flagellum, toward the plus ends of the axonemal microtubules, is powered by the heterotrimeric kinesin FLA10 kinesin-II (Walther et al., 1994
; Kozminski et al., 1995
; Cole
et al., 1998
). However, the retrograde motor for IFT is not
known. Because the LC8 mutant is defective in retrograde IFT and LC8 is a subunit of cytoplasmic dynein, we hypothesized that the retrograde IFT motor was cytoplasmic
dynein, specifically the DHC1b isoform (Pazour et al.,
1998
). This hypothesis was supported by studies in Caenorhabditis elegans showing that defects in DHC1b specifically affect those sensory neurons that are modified cilia (Collet et al., 1998
).
To determine directly if DHC1b has a role in retrograde
IFT and flagellar assembly, we have isolated and sequenced partial cDNA clones encoding this isoform from
Chlamydomonas, and identified a mutant with a deletion
allele of the DHC1b gene. These mutant cells grow normally but have very short flagella that are filled with IFT
rafts. An antibody to an IFT raft subunit indicates that the
raft proteins are redistributed from the peri-basal body region, where they are predominantly located in wild-type
cells (Cole et al., 1998), to the flagella. Apparently the
rafts are moved into the forming flagella by FLA10 kinesin-II, but are not returned to the peri-basal body pool due
to the defect in DHC1b. We also raised an antibody
against DHC1b and found that this protein is present in
the wild-type flagella, primarily in the membrane + matrix
and ATP-extractable fractions. Thus, DHC1b is in the
proper location to be involved in IFT. The results indicate
that DHC1b is essential for flagellar assembly, probably
because it is the motor for retrograde IFT.
![]() |
Materials and Methods |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
Strains
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii strains used in the work include: g1 (nit1,
NIT2, agg1, mt+) (Pazour et al., 1995), CC124 (nit1, nit2, agg1, mt
)
(Chlamydomonas Genetics Center), V92.2 (dhc1b-1::NIT1, nit1, mt+)
(obtained by transforming g1 with cloned NIT1 DNA), and 3088.4 (dhc1b-1::NIT1, mt+) (offspring of cross between V92.2 and CC124).
Transformation and Mutagenesis
Transformation was carried out by the method of Kindle (1990) as described in Pazour et al. (1995)
. Insertional mutants were isolated as described in Pazour et al. (1998)
. DNA was purified from 303 independently
isolated mutant lines and examined by Southern blotting with the DHC1b
cDNA clone as a probe. One line (V92.2) was found in which this gene
was deleted.
RNA and DNA Isolation and Analysis
DNA was isolated from Chlamydomonas by digesting the cells with proteinase K as described in Pazour et al. (1998). For determination of the
patterns of expression of genes, mRNA was obtained from wild-type (g1)
cells before deflagellation and 30 min after deflagellation as described in
Koutoulis et al. (1997)
. Gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, and Northern blotting were performed using standard procedures (Sambrook et al.,
1987
).
Genetic Analysis
V92.2 and CC124 cells were induced to become gametes by nitrogen starvation. The gametes were treated with 15 mM dibutyryl-cAMP, and 0.15 mM
papaverine (Pasquale and Goodenough, 1987; Wilson et al., 1997
) for 1 h
to induce formation of the mating structures. Afterwards the two cell
types were centrifuged together into a pellet to facilitate fusion. After two
additional hours, cells were plated on solid medium and zygotes allowed
to mature for 6 d. Tetrads were dissected and analyzed by standard procedures (Levine and Ebersold, 1960
; Harris, 1989
) as described in Pazour et al.
(1998)
.
Cloning Chlamydomonas Dynein Genes and Phylogenetic Analysis
The Chlamydomonas DHC1b cDNA was cloned by PCR using primers
based on conserved regions of DHC1b from other species. Peptide sequences of the dynein isoforms in GenBank were aligned by CLUSTAL W (Thompson et al., 1994) and examined to identify regions that are
highly conserved in the DHC1b isoform, but not conserved in other isoforms. The peptide, NPAGKGYG, which is highly specific for the
DHC1b isoforms, was used to design a gene-specific antisense primer using Chlamydomonas codon bias. Similarly, three dynein-specific sense
primers (based on CYLTLTQ, FNCDEG, and WGCFDEFNR peptides) were designed. Three sets of PCR reactions using Elongase () were carried out on a cDNA library enriched for DHC sequences (Wilkerson et al., 1994
). All three produced bands of the predicted size
and all three PCR products were found by sequencing to be highly homologous to DHC1b from other species. One of these products, encoding
amino acids Phe-776 to Gly-862 in Fig. 1 a, was used to screen the same
cDNA library by hybridization. Eight positive phage clones were identified and the ends were sequenced. The sequences were compared to the
C. elegans DHC1b gene to determine the relationship between the individual clones. The two overlapping clones (pGP638 and pGP639) that extended out the farthest were sequenced on both strands by the Iowa State
University Sequencing Facility.
|
The Chlamydomonas DHC clone pcr4 (Wilkerson et al., 1994) also was
used to screen the library enriched for DHC cDNAs. Two positive clones
(pGP628 and pGP629) were identified and sequenced.
The predicted amino acid sequences of the P-loop regions were aligned
by CLUSTAL W with a subset of the dyneins in GenBank and shaded
with Boxshade (http://www.isrec.isb-sib.ch/software/BOX_form.html). A
phylogenetic tree was drawn by PHYLIP (Felsenstein, 1989) using the
UPGMA method.
Electron and Immunofluorescence Microscopy
Cells were fixed in glutaraldehyde for EM (Hoops and Witman, 1983) and
processed as described in Wilkerson et al. (1995)
. Cells were fixed and
stained for immunofluorescence microscopy by the alternate protocol of
Cole et al. (1998)
. Images were acquired using Photometrix cameras on
Axioskop and Axioplan microscopes. Antibodies to p139, p172, and
FLA10 were gifts of D. Cole (University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho) and J. Rosenbaum (Yale University, New Haven, CT).
Antibody Production, Protein Isolation, and Western Blotting
A 1-kb Pst1 fragment of the Chlamydomonas DHC1b cDNA was inserted
in the Pst1 site of pMAL-cR1 (). Expression of
this construct in Escherichia coli produced a protein in which 315 amino
acids (starting at the sequence QQFDAH and ending at NKLSFL) of
DHC1b were fused to the maltose-binding protein. The fusion protein
was purified by amylose affinity chromatography and antibodies were
produced in rabbits (Research Genetics Inc.). Anti-DHC1b antibodies
were purified by adsorption to and release from another DHC1b fusion
protein made from the pThioHisB vector (Invitrogen Corp.) and bound to
polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Immobilon-P; , Waters Chromatography) (Olmsted, 1981; King et al., 1996
).
For Western blots, flagella were isolated and fractionated as described
in Pazour et al. (1998), except that the demembranated axonemes were
washed three times with buffer containing 10 mM MgATP2
, and extracted with 0.6 M KCl to solubilize dynein arms. Whole cell extracts were
made by resuspending log-phase cells in SDS-sample buffer, heating at
50°C for 10 min, and repeatedly drawing the sample through a 26-gauge
needle to shear the DNA. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE (Pfister
et al., 1982
) and blotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride membrane by the
two-step procedure of Otter et al. (1987)
. Western blotting was as described in Pazour et al. (1998)
.
![]() |
Results |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
Cloning the Chlamydomonas DHC1b Gene
As an initial step in investigating the role of DHC1b in
flagellar assembly, we set out to isolate cDNA clones encoding Chlamydomonas DHC1b. To do this, we used PCR
with degenerate primers to amplify a portion of the
DHC1b coding region (see Materials and Methods). The
PCR product was used as a probe to isolate clones from a
cDNA library greatly enriched for DHC sequences (Wilkerson et al., 1994). Two overlapping cDNA clones covering a total of 3.6 kb were obtained and sequenced. When
the peptide encoded by this sequence (Fig. 1 a) was compared to other sequences in GenBank using BLAST, the
strongest matches were the DHC1b isoforms of Tetrahymena thermophila (58% identical) and Caenorhabditis elegans (43% identical). The new sequence was aligned to the
entire set of DHC sequences in GenBank. It was more
similar to proteins in the DHC1b subfamily than to those
in the DHC1a or axonemal DHC subfamilies, suggesting
that the new Chlamydomonas sequence represents a
DHC1b isoform. An alignment of a representative subset
of these sequences is shown in Fig. 1 b. The assignment to
the DHC1b subfamily was confirmed by phylogenetic
analysis of the DHC family (Fig. 1 c).
To determine if the DHC1b gene is induced by deflagellation, RNA was isolated from control cells and cells 30 min after being deflagellated. Deflagellation induces transcription of genes that encode abundant flagellar proteins,
e.g., the gene ODA3 that encodes a protein of the outer
dynein arm docking complex (Koutoulis et al., 1997; Fig. 1
d, ODA3). The amount of DHC1b transcript was much
higher in the deflagellated than in the control cells (Fig. 1
d, DHC1b), consistent with DHC1b having a role in flagellar assembly.
This laboratory previously identified a DHC cDNA sequence termed pcr4 (Wilkerson et al., 1994) that we
thought also potentially could encode a cytoplasmic dynein. To learn more about this isoform, we used pcr4 as a
probe to isolate two partial cDNA clones covering a total
of 2.0 kb, and sequenced these clones. A portion of the sequence is shown in Fig. 1 b. In the phylogenetic analysis,
this dynein lies between the yeast cytoplasmic DHCs and
the axonemal outer arm DHCs (Fig. 1 c), indicating that it
diverged very early in the evolution of the DHC gene family. It is expressed at very low levels and does not appear
to be induced by deflagellation (results not shown), so it is
not likely to be involved in flagellar assembly. It probably
is the Chlamydomonas version of the conventional cytoplasmic DHC isoform (DHC1a). However, we cannot rule
out the possibility that Chlamydomonas contains another,
still unidentified, DHC isoform that is more closely related
to the conventional cytoplasmic DHC isoforms.
Identification of a Strain with a Deletion Mutation in DHC1b
In an effort to identify a Chlamydomonas strain with a defect in the DHC1b gene, a portion of one of the DHC1b
cDNAs was used to screen a collection of insertional mutants that had been generated by transforming cells with
DNA containing a selectable marker. Transformation of
Chlamydomonas occurs by the nonhomologous integration of DNA into the genome (Kindle, 1990; Tam and
Lefebvre, 1993
), resulting in the disruption or deletion of
genes at the site of insertion. Such mutations can be detected as restriction fragment length polymorphisms in
Southern blots probed with DNAs encoding the affected
genes, so that cell lines in which a cloned gene has been
disrupted can be readily identified (Wilkerson et al., 1995
;
Koutoulis et al., 1997
; Pazour et al., 1998
). From a screen of >300 insertional mutants with a wide range of phenotypes (Pazour et al., 1995
; Koutoulis et al., 1997
), one
strain (V92.2) was found with a disrupted DHC1b gene
(Fig. 2 a). Further Southern blot analysis of this strain using the two longer DHC1b cDNAs as probes indicated
that at least 3.6 kb of DHC1b coding region was deleted.
Because the deleted region includes P-loops 1 and 2, this
deletion allele, termed dhc1b-1, is likely to be a loss-of-function allele.
|
To determine if the mutation affected cell growth rate, growth curves were determined for the parent strain (g1), the original mutant isolate (V92.2), and a mutant offspring (3088.4) of a cross between V92.2 and wild type. All doubled at the same rate (Fig. 2 b), indicating that this mutation does not affect cell growth.
dhc1b Mutants Have Severe Flagellar Defects
Deletion of the DHC1b gene causes the cells to have very short, nonmotile flagella (Fig. 2 c). The flagella barely extend beyond the cell wall and often have a bulbous appearance. To be sure that this phenotype is the result of the dhc1b deletion and not of a second mutation at another site, the mutant cell line was crossed to a wild-type strain of the opposite mating type, and the resulting tetrads were dissected. One product from each of 49 tetrads was scored for the stumpy flagella phenotype by light microscopy and for the dhc1b deletion by Southern blotting (Fig. 2 d). In all cases the cells with short flagella had the dhc1b deletion, while those with normal flagella and motility had a wild-type DHC1b gene. These results indicate that the flagellar defect is tightly linked to the DHC1b deletion, and almost certainly is the result of it.
Electron microscopic analysis showed that the dhc1b
flagella have a very aberrant structure (Fig. 3). The flagella barely extend beyond the flagellar collars (Fig. 3, d
and e), and their microtubules are often disorganized. In
some cross-sections, the axoneme has a normal looking 9 + 2 arrangement of microtubules (Fig. 3 b), whereas in others no microtubules are seen (Fig. 3 c). At least some inner
and outer arms are present on those dhc1b axonemes (Fig.
3 b) that extend beyond the point where arms first appear
on the doublet microtubules of wild-type axonemes (Hoops and Witman, 1983). The most distinctive feature of the
dhc1b flagellar cross-sections is that they all contain an unusual abundance of electron-dense material that is identical in appearance to the IFT raft particles (Kozminski et
al., 1993
, 1995
; Pazour et al., 1998
). In cross-sections of
wild-type flagella, rafts are occasionally seen between the
doublet microtubules and the flagellar membrane (Kozminski et al., 1993
, 1995
), but in the dhc1b mutant this
space is completely filled with rafts. For example, in the
flagellum shown in Fig. 3 b, the axoneme is surrounded by
two or three concentric rings of tightly packed rafts. In the
flagellum shown in Fig. 3 c, the axoneme is missing and the
entire space within the flagellar membrane is filled with
rafts. In longitudinal sections (Fig. 3, d and e), the rafts
have the typical appearance of a linear array of subunits
(Kozminski et al., 1993
).
|
dhc1b Cells Exhibit a Redistribution of Raft Proteins from the Peri-Basal Body Region to the Flagella
To determine if the distribution of IFT proteins in dhc1b
cells differed in any other way from that in wild-type cells,
we examined both cell types by immunofluorescence microscopy. Antibodies to raft subunits and to the FLA10
subunit of the anterograde IFT motor stain wild-type cells
with very similar patterns. The antibodies localize primarily to the peri-basal body region within the cell body, and
to punctate spots along the flagella (Cole et al., 1998; Fig.
4, a and c). In contrast, dhc1b mutant cells, stained with an
antibody specific for the p172 raft subunit, lacked the peri-basal body staining but showed dramatically stronger
staining of the flagella (Fig. 4 b). The latter result confirms
that the electron-dense particles accumulated in the dhc1b
flagella are IFT rafts. Antibodies to the FLA10 subunit of
the anterograde motor also stain dhc1b flagella more
strongly than they stain wild-type flagella (Fig. 4 d). However, in contrast to the raft subunit, FLA10 is retained in
the peri-basal body region of dhc1b cells. There is little staining of the general cytoplasm or of other cell structures by these antibodies in either wild-type or mutant cells.
|
The Golgi Apparatus Appears Normal in Chlamydomonas DHC1b Mutants
Previous work (Vaisberg et al., 1996) showed that the
mammalian DHC1b isoform was localized to the Golgi apparatus and that microinjection of DHC1b antibodies
caused the Golgi complex to disperse. To determine if deletion of the DHC1b gene affected Golgi apparatus structure or positioning in Chlamydomonas, we compared wild-type and mutant cell bodies by electron microscopy. The
organization of the mutant cell body was very similar to
that of the wild-type parent. In both cell types, the Golgi
stacks were located on the opposite side of the nucleus
from the flagella, and were composed of four to eight cisternae (Fig. 5). We also did not detect defects in cell structures that presumably are dependent upon the Golgi apparatus for their formation. For example, Golgi complexes in
green algae function in the formation of cell wall precursors (for review see Domozych, 1991
). Cell walls in the
mutant cell appear morphologically normal by electron
microscopy. In addition, the cells do not lyse in the presence of 0.5% Triton X-100, indicating that the cell walls
are structurally intact (data not shown).
|
Cytoplasmic Dynein DHC1b Is Present in the Flagella
If DHC1b powers retrograde IFT, then this isoform of cytoplasmic dynein should be present in wild-type flagella.
To test this, we generated an antibody against a bacterially
expressed fragment of Chlamydomonas DHC1b. The peptide used for antibody production constitutes ~50 kD near
the NH2-terminal end of the region that we have cloned;
this region is not highly conserved among DHCs (Wilkerson et al., 1994; Gibbons, 1995
; Pazour, G.J., and G.B. Witman, unpublished results), so an antibody to it is likely to be isoform specific. To check this, we examined the ability
of the antibody to react with DHCs in Western blots of extracts of wild-type vs. dhc1b whole cells. The antibody detected a single high molecular weight band in wild-type
cells, but did not recognize any band in the cells lacking
DHC1b (Fig. 6 a, DHC1b). Antibody to the outer dynein
arm
DHC detected bands in both cell lines (Fig. 6 a,
DHC
), confirming that other DHCs are present in the dhc1b cells. Therefore, the antibody is isoform specific.
|
The antibody was used to determine if DHC1b is
present in wild-type flagella, and if so, in which fraction.
Flagella were isolated from wild-type cells and separated
into the following fractions: (a) membrane + matrix, consisting of the detergent-soluble membrane proteins and
any soluble proteins of the flagellar cytoplasm; (b) ATP-rinse 1, ATP-rinse 2, and ATP-rinse 3, consisting of proteins not extracted by detergent but released from the axonemes by a first, second, or third rinse with 10 mM
MgATP2; (c) salt-extract, consisting of proteins released
from the ATP-rinsed axonemes by 0.6 M KCl; and (d) axonemes, consisting of the proteins not extracted by detergent, ATP, and KCl. As shown in Fig. 6 b, the anti-DHC1b
antibody reacts strongly with a single protein in the flagellar fractions. Nearly all of the DHC1b is in the membrane + matrix or ATP-rinse 1 fractions, with very little in the salt
extract or axoneme fractions (Fig. 6, DHC1b). The distributions of the FLA10 subunit of the anterograde IFT motor and the p139 raft subunit are very similar [Fig. 6,
FLA10 and Raft (p139)]. In contrast, the
DHC of outer
arm dynein is most abundant in the salt extract, with a
lesser amount extracted by ATP and very little in the
membrane + matrix (Fig. 6 b, DHC
). This distribution is
to be expected for an axonemal DHC. For unknown reasons, a small amount of axonemal DHCs is released from
the axoneme by ATP (Goodenough and Heuser, 1984
).
In any case, the distribution clearly differs from that of
DHC1b. These results indicate that DHC1b is present in
the wild-type flagellum, and is in the fraction expected for
an IFT motor.
The cellular distribution of DHC1b was further examined by immunofluorescence microscopy using the same DHC1b antibody as used in the Western blot experiments. In wild-type cells (Fig. 4 e), the antibody stained primarily the peri-basal body region and punctate spots along the flagella. Some punctate staining of the cell body was present, but this was also observed in dhc1b cells (Fig. 4 f), indicating that it occurred because of nonspecific binding of the antibody. Thus, the immunofluorescence localization of DHC1b in wild-type cells is virtually identical to that observed for the other IFT components, p172 and FLA10. No obvious staining of cytoplasmic microtubules or the Golgi apparatus was detected, although the presence of nonspecific punctate staining in the cell body could have obscured a specific localization to a small cell body structure.
![]() |
Discussion |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
Function of DHC1b
The findings presented here show that the DHC1b present in the flagella of wild-type Chlamydomonas is located predominantly in the detergent- and ATP-soluble fractions, and is essential for flagellar assembly. A mutant lacking the DHC1b gene has defective flagella, but its growth rate is normal, implying that no vital functions are compromised. The ultrastructure of the mutant is consistent with a specific defect in the retrograde component of IFT (see below). Taken together, these results indicate that DHC1b is a cytoplasmic dynein specialized for function in flagellar assembly, probably as the motor for retrograde IFT.
We reported previously that an insertional mutant of
Chlamydomonas lacking the dynein light chain LC8 was
defective in retrograde IFT (Pazour et al., 1998). This mutant accumulated large numbers of rafts at the tips of short
flagella, apparently because the rafts were transported
into the flagella but could not readily return to the base
due to the defect in retrograde IFT. The dhc1b mutant has
even shorter flagella filled with even more rafts. In this
mutant the raft proteins are completely redistributed from
the peri-basal body pool, where they are predominantly
located in wild-type and the LC8 mutant (results not
shown), into the flagella. Although the flagella of dhc1b
cells are too short for IFT to be observed directly in them,
the similar accumulation of rafts in the flagella of the LC8
and dhc1b mutants suggests that the latter also is defective
in retrograde IFT. It seems likely that in wild-type cells,
rafts continuously move from the peri-basal body pool up
the flagella and then back down, returning to the pool
(Fig. 7). In the dhc1b mutant, rafts presumably move into
the flagella as in wild-type cells, but then accumulate there because there is no retrograde IFT to return them to the
peri-basal body pool. As a result, the peri-basal body pool
becomes depleted. The fact that the phenotype is stronger
in the dhc1b mutant than in the LC8 mutant suggests that
some retrograde transport of rafts remains in the absence
of the light chain. However, it is possible that loss of
DHC1b and LC8 affect flagellar assembly and IFT
through different mechanisms. Currently, we are carrying
out studies to determine if LC8 is a component of DHC1b
dynein, which should clarify this matter.
|
Our results strongly suggest that DHC1b dynein is the
motor for retrograde IFT and that loss of DHC1b impairs
flagellar assembly directly via its effect on IFT. An alternative possibility is that loss of DHC1b affects IFT and
flagellar assembly indirectly. IFT components, including
FLA10 and the raft proteins, are concentrated in the peri-basal body pool (Cole et al., 1998; see Fig. 4). Moreover, mRNAs encoding flagellar proteins become concentrated
in the peri-basal body region during flagellar assembly
(Han et al., 1997
; Marshall, W., and J. Rosenbaum, personal communication). Microtubules radiate from the
basal body region into the cytoplasm (Ringo, 1967
) and these microtubules are oriented with their minus ends toward the basal bodies. Therefore, a minus end-directed
motor-like dynein could be responsible for the concentration of the IFT proteins and mRNAs encoding flagellar
proteins in the peri-basal body region. If these components were not concentrated in this region due to a defect
in DHC1b, flagellar assembly might be impaired. However, if this were the case, then one would expect the raft
proteins to be distributed throughout the cytoplasm of the
dhc1b cells. In fact, they are not distributed throughout
the cytoplasm, but are packed into the flagellar stubs.
Moreover, FLA10 kinesin-II is concentrated in the peri-basal body pool in the dhc1b mutant (Fig. 4 d), indicating
that the machinery for its transport to that region is intact.
Thus, it seems unlikely that the flagellar assembly defect is
the result of a failure to transport components to the peri-basal body region.
Although DHC1b has been localized to the Golgi apparatus in mammalian cells, and injection of an antibody
against DHC1b caused disruption of the Golgi complex
(Vaisberg et al., 1996), we did not observe any effect of
DHC1b loss on Golgi apparatus position, structure, or
function in Chlamydomonas, suggesting that it may not
have a role in the Golgi complex in this organism. However, our findings explain many of the other previous observations concerning DHC1b. Our data that DHC1b is
necessary for flagellar assembly explain why its expression
is induced during ciliogenesis (Gibbons et al., 1994
; Gibbons, 1995
; Criswell et al., 1996
; see Fig. 1 d). Furthermore,
DHC1b is likely to be necessary for the assembly and
maintenance of both motile and nonmotile cilia and flagella, including the primary cilium. Because a primary cilium is found in most cell types (Wheatley, 1982
), this could
explain why DHC1b is expressed in cells and tissues that
do not produce motile cilia (Criswell et al., 1996
; Vaisberg
et al., 1996
). The data showing that IFT components, including DHC1b, are concentrated in the peri-basal body
pool (Cole et al., 1998
) explain why DHC1b was localized
to the apical regions of ciliated RTE cells (Criswell et al.,
1996
). The fact that the peri-basal body pool stains much more brightly than the flagella with antibodies to IFT
components could explain why DHC1b was not detected
in the cilia of the RTE cells (Criswell et al., 1996
).
The Fractionation Pattern of DHC1b and FLA10 May Reflect Their Activity States
In our Western blot analysis of flagellar fractions, DHC1b was found in nearly equal amounts in the membrane + matrix fraction and the first ATP-rinse fraction. FLA10 was predominantly in the first ATP-rinse fraction, although a considerable amount also was present in the membrane + matrix fraction. Motor molecules in the ATP-rinse fraction presumably are those that were bound to the doublet microtubules by rigor bonds. However, inasmuch as intraflagellar ATP should have been completely depleted shortly after deflagellation, it is surprising that not all of the motor molecules were attached by rigor bonds. This raises the possibility that the distribution of these motors reflects their activity states in the flagellum. Thus, dynein and kinesin in the membrane + matrix fraction may have been in an inactive state, corresponding to those motors that were being passively transported to the tip or base of the flagella, respectively. Conversely, dynein and kinesin in the ATP-rinse fraction may have been in an active state, corresponding to those motors that were actively transporting rafts to the base or tip of the flagellum, respectively. If so, the motors from these fractions may be useful for determining how dynein and kinesin activities are regulated in the flagellum.
The DHC1b Isoform Is Likely Needed for Flagellar Assembly in all Ciliated Species
The DHC1b isoform has been found in a wide range of ciliated organisms including: mammals, sea urchins, nematodes, ciliates, and algae. However, it is not present in
nonflagellated yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. If
DHC1b became specialized for flagellar assembly early in
evolution, it would explain why S. cerevisiae, believed to
have lost its flagella secondarily (Wainwright et al., 1993),
has discarded the DHC1b gene along with all axonemal
dynein genes. The nematode C. elegans does not have any
motile cilia, but makes extensive use of sensory cilia to
monitor its environment (White et al., 1976
; Perkins et al., 1986
). Many mutations that affect these sensory cilia have
been identified. Interestingly, several of these genes encode proteins homologous to Chlamydomonas IFT raft
subunits or motors. For example, C. elegans OSM-1 and
OSM-6 encode proteins that are homologous to the p172
and p52 IFT raft subunits, OSM-3 encodes a kinesin similar to the anterograde IFT motor (Cole et al., 1998
), and CHE-3 encodes the DHC1b isoform of cytoplasmic dynein (Grant, W., personal communication). The C. elegans
che-3 phenotype (Lewis and Hodgkin, 1977
; Collet et al.,
1998
) is very similar to the Chlamydomonas dhc1b phenotype. Both mutations cause the cilia to be shorter than normal and swollen with electron-dense material. As is the
case in Chlamydomonas, the electron-dense material in C. elegans appears to be raft subunits, because the OSM-6
protein is highly concentrated at the ends of che-3 cilia
(Collet et al., 1998
).
In echinoderms, kinesin-II antibodies stain the midpiece
of the sperm near the basal body and also stain the sperm
flagella in a discontinuous punctate pattern (Henson et al.,
1997) similar to what is seen in Chlamydomonas flagella.
Furthermore, microinjection of kinesin-II antibodies into
fertilized sea urchin eggs prevented the formation of cilia
on the developing embryo, suggesting that a process similar to IFT occurs in echinoderms (Morris and Scholey, 1997
).
Vertebrates have motile cilia (sperm tails, ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract, etc.), sensory cilia (rods
and cones in the eye, olfactory cilia) as well as primary
cilia, and kinocilia that may have a role in development.
DHC1b and IFT are very likely to be vitally important for
the assembly of all of these types of cilia. In the mouse,
knockout of Kif3A (Marszalek et al. 1998. Mol. Biol. Cell.
9:131a), the vertebrate homologue of FLA10, or Kif3B
(Nonaka et al., 1998), the other motor subunit of vertebrate kinesin-II, results in loss of the nodal cilia. Moreover, Kif3A has been localized to the connecting cilium of
the vertebrate photoreceptor (Beech et al., 1996
), suggesting that kinesin-II is responsible for the anterograde transport of proteins into the rod outer segment. Very recently,
photoreceptor-specific deletion of Kif3A in mice was
found to cause structural abnormalities in the rod outer
segment (Marszalek et al. 1998. Mol. Biol. Cell. 9:131a).
Therefore, defects in IFT components may be one cause of
human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa that involve
the degeneration of cells bearing modified cilia.
![]() |
Footnotes |
---|
Received for publication 11 November 1998 and in revised form 28 December 1998.
Address correspondence to George B. Witman, Department of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North,
Worcester, MA 01655. Tel.: (508) 856-4038. Fax: (508) 856-5612. E-mail:
george.witman{at}ummed.edu
We thank J. Aghajanian (Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, Shrewsbury, MA) for electron microscopy; D. Cole and J. Rosenbaum for the generous gift of the FLA10, p139, and p172 antibodies; J. Anuszczyk (Novera, Burlington, MA) for UNIX assistance; and M. Byron and J. Lawrence (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA) for assistance with fluorescence microscopy.
These studies were supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (GM30626) and the Campbell and Hall Charity Fund.
![]() |
Abbreviations used in this paper |
---|
DHC, dynein heavy chain; IFT, intraflagellar transport; RTE, rat tracheal epithelial.
![]() |
References |
---|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
---|
1. |
Beech, P.L.,
K. Pagh-Roehl,
Y. Noda,
N. Hirokawa,
B. Burnside, and
J.L. Rosenbaum.
1996.
Localization of kinesin superfamily proteins to the connecting cilium of fish photoreceptors.
J. Cell Sci.
109:
889-897
|
2. |
Cole, D.G.,
D.R. Diener,
A.L. Himelblau,
P.L. Beech,
J.C. Fuster, and
J.L. Rosenbaum.
1998.
Chlamydomonas kinesin-II-dependent intraflagellar
transport (IFT): IFT particles contain proteins required for ciliary assembly
in Caenorhabditis elegans sensory neurons.
J. Cell Biol.
141:
993-1008
|
3. |
Collet, J.,
C.A. Spike,
E.A. Lundquist,
J.E. Shaw, and
R.K. Herman.
1998.
Analysis of osm-6, a gene that affects sensory cilium structure and sensory
neuron function in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Genetics.
148:
187-200
|
4. |
Criswell, P.S.,
L.E. Ostrowski, and
D.J. Asai.
1996.
A novel cytoplasmic dynein
heavy chain: expression of DHC1b in mammalian ciliated epithelial cells.
J.
Cell Sci.
109:
1891-1898
|
5. | Domozych, D.S.. 1991. The Golgi apparatus and membrane trafficking in green algae. Int. Rev. Cytol. 131: 213-253 |
6. | Felsenstein, J.. 1989. PHYLIP: Phylogeny Inference Package (Version 3.2). Cladistics. 5: 164-166 . |
7. | Gibbons, I.R.. 1995. Dynein family of motor proteins: present status and future questions. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton. 32: 136-144 |
8. | Gibbons, B.H., D.J. Asai, W.-J.Y. Tang, T.S. Hays, and I.R. Gibbons. 1994. Phylogeny and expression of axonemal and cytoplasmic dynein genes in sea urchins. Mol. Biol. Cell. 5: 57-70 [Abstract]. |
9. | Goodenough, U., and J. Heuser. 1984. Structural comparison of purified dynein proteins with in situ dynein arms. J. Mol. Biol. 180: 1083-1118 |
10. |
Han, J.W.,
J.H. Park,
M. Kim, and
J. Lee.
1997.
mRNAs for microtubule proteins are specifically colocalized during the sequential formation of basal
body, flagella, and cytoskeletal microtubules in the differentiation of Naegleria gruberi.
J. Cell Biol.
137:
871-879
|
11. | Harris, E.H. 1989. The Chlamydomonas Sourcebook. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego. 780 pp. |
12. |
Harrison, A.,
P. Olds-Clarke, and
S.M. King.
1998.
Identification of the t complex-encoded cytoplasmic dynein light chain Tctex1 in inner arm I1 supports
the involvement of flagellar dynein in meiotic drive.
J. Cell Biol.
140:
1137-1147
|
13. | Henson, J.H., D.G. Cole, C.D. Roesener, S. Capuano, R.J. Mendola, and J.M. Scholey. 1997. The heterotrimeric motor protein kinesin-II localizes to the midpiece and flagellum of sea urchin and sand dollar sperm. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton. 38: 29-37 |
14. | Hoops, H.J., and G.B. Witman. 1983. Outer doublet heterogeneity reveals structural polarity related to beat direction in Chlamydomonas flagella. J. Cell Biol. 97: 902-908 [Abstract]. |
15. | Kindle, K.L.. 1990. High-frequency nuclear transformation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 87: 1228-1232 [Abstract]. |
16. | King, S.M., T. Otter, and G.B. Witman. 1985. Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against Chlamydomonas flagellar dyneins by high-resolution protein blotting. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 82: 4717-4721 [Abstract]. |
17. |
King, S.M., and
R.S. Patel-King.
1995.
The Mr = 8,000 and 11,000 outer arm dynein light chains from Chlamydomonas flagella have cytoplasmic homologues.
J. Biol. Chem.
270:
11445-11452
|
18. |
King, S.M.,
E. Barbarese,
J.F. Dillman III,
R.S. Patel-King,
J.H. Carson, and
K.K. Pfister.
1996.
Brain cytoplasmic and flagellar outer arm dyneins share a
highly conserved Mr 8,000 light chain.
J. Biol. Chem.
271:
19358-19366
|
19. |
Koutoulis, A.,
G.J. Pazour,
C.G. Wilkerson,
K. Inaba,
H. Sheng,
S. Takada, and
G.B. Witman.
1997.
The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii ODA3 gene encodes a
protein of the outer dynein arm docking complex.
J. Cell Biol.
137:
1069-1080
|
20. | Kozminski, K.G., K.A. Johnson, P. Forscher, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1993. A motility in the eukaryotic flagellum unrelated to flagellar beating. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 90: 5519-5523 [Abstract]. |
21. | Kozminski, K.G., P.L. Beech, and J.L. Rosenbaum. 1995. The Chlamydomonas kinesin-like protein FLA10 is involved in motility associated with the flagellar membrane. J. Cell Biol. 131: 1517-1527 [Abstract]. |
22. | Levine, R.P., and W.T. Ebersold. 1960. The genetics and cytology of Chlamydomonas. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 14: 197-216 . |
23. | Lewis, J.A., and J.A. Hodgkin. 1977. Specific neuroanatomical changes in chemosensory mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. J. Comp. Neurol. 172: 489-510 |
24. |
Morris, R.L., and
J.M. Scholey.
1997.
Heterotrimeric kinesin-II is required for
the assembly of motile 9 + 2 ciliary axonemes on sea urchin embryos.
J. Cell
Biol.
138:
1009-1022
|
25. | Nonaka, S., Y. Tanaka, Y. Okada, S. Takeda, A. Harada, Y. Kanai, M. Kido, and N. Hirokawa. 1998. Randomization of left-right asymmetry due to loss of nodal cilia generating leftward flow of extraembryonic fluid in mice lacking KIF3B motor protein. Cell. 95: 829-837 |
26. |
Olmsted, J.B..
1981.
Affinity purification of antibodies from diazotized paper
blots of heterogeneous protein samples.
J. Biol. Chem.
256:
11955-11957
|
27. | Otter, T., S.M. King, and G.B. Witman. 1987. A two-step procedure for efficient electrotransfer of both high-molecular(>400,000) and low-molecular-weight (<20,000) proteins. Anal. Biochem. 162: 370-377 |
28. | Pasquale, S.M., and U.W. Goodenough. 1987. Cyclic AMP functions as a primary sexual signal in gametes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. J. Cell Biol. 105: 2279-2292 [Abstract]. |
29. | Pazour, G.J., O.A. Sineshchekov, and G.B. Witman. 1995. Mutational analysis of the phototransduction pathway of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. J. Cell Biol. 131: 427-440 [Abstract]. |
30. |
Pazour, G.J.,
C.G. Wilkerson, and
G.B. Witman.
1998.
A dynein light chain is
essential for the retrograde particle movement of intraflagellar transport
(IFT).
J. Cell Biol.
141:
979-992
|
31. | Perkins, L.A., E.M. Hedgecock, J.N. Thomson, and J.G. Culotti. 1986. Mutant sensory cilia in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev. Biol. 117: 456-487 |
32. | Pfister, K.K., R.B. Fay, and G.B. Witman. 1982. Purification and polypeptide composition of dynein ATPases from Chlamydomonas flagella. Cell Motil. 2: 525-547 |
33. |
Porter, M.E.,
J.A. Knott,
S.H. Myster, and
S.J. Farlow.
1996.
The dynein gene
family in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Genetics.
144:
569-585
|
34. |
Ringo, D.L..
1967.
Flagellar motion and fine structure of the flagellar apparatus
in Chlamydomonas.
J. Cell Biol.
33:
543-571
|
35. | Sambrook, J., E.F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis. 1987. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. 545 pp. |
36. |
Tam, L.-W., and
P.A. Lefebvre.
1993.
Cloning of flagellar genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by DNA insertional mutagenesis.
Genetics.
135:
375-384
|
37. |
Tanaka, Y.,
Z. Zhang, and
N. Hirokawa.
1995.
Identification and molecular
evolution of new dynein-like protein sequences in rat brain.
J. Cell Sci.
108:
1883-1893
|
38. | Thompson, J.D., D.G. Higgins, and T.J. Gibson. 1994. CLUSTAL W: improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. Nucleic Acids Res. 22: 4673-4680 [Abstract]. |
39. | Vaisberg, E.A., P.M. Grissom, and J.R. McIntosh. 1996. Mammalian cells express three distinct dynein heavy chains that are localized to different cytoplasmic organelles. J. Cell Biol. 133: 831-842 [Abstract]. |
40. | Wainwright, P.O., G. Hinkle, M.L. Sogin, and S.K. Stickel. 1993. Monophyletic origins of the metazoa: an evolutionary link with fungi. Science. 260: 340-342 |
41. | Walther, Z., M. Vashishtha, and J.L. Hall. 1994. The Chlamydomonas FLA10 gene encodes a novel kinesin-homologous protein. J. Cell Biol. 126: 175-188 [Abstract]. |
42. | Wheatley, D.N. 1982. The Centriole: A Central Enigma of Cell Biology. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 232 pp. |
43. | White, J.G., E. Southgate, J.N. Thomson, and S. Brenner. 1976. The structure of the ventral nerve cord of Caenorhabditis elegans. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci. 275: 327-348 . |
44. |
Wilkerson, C.G.,
S.M. King, and
G.B. Witman.
1994.
Molecular analysis of the
![]() |
45. | Wilkerson, C.G., S.M. King, A. Koutoulis, G.J. Pazour, and G.B. Witman. 1995. The 78,000 Mr intermediate chain of Chlamydomonas outer arm dynein is a WD-repeat protein required for arm assembly. J. Cell Biol. 129: 169-178 [Abstract]. |
46. |
Wilson, N.F.,
M.J. Foglesong, and
W.J. Snell.
1997.
The Chlamydomonas mating type plus fertilization tubule, a prototypic cell fusion organelle: isolation,
characterization and in vitro adhesion to mating type minus gametes.
J. Cell
Biol.
137:
1537-1553
|