Thesis
Lipid droplet localization in the early embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2016
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102307
Abstract
Lipid droplets are the main sites of excess energy storage in cells. It is vital that the storage of fat is properly regulated; if not, many metabolic diseases can occur such as: obesity, type 2 diabetes and lipodystrophy. Little is known about the roles of lipid droplets during germ line and early embryo development. Our lab uses the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to study the regulation of fat metabolism and development biology. In order to study lipid droplet localization and dynamics in the reproductive tissues, we generated two in vivo markers of lipid droplets that express in the gonad of C. elegans. GFP-tagged PLIN-1 and ACS-4 expressed under a germ line specific promoter showed lipid droplet localization in the germ line and the early embryos. When we observed the PLIN-1::GFP strain we found a distinct lipid droplet localization pattern. Lipid droplets were dispersed throughout the oocytes and in the early embryos following fertilization. During the first cell cycle, the crucial period when embryo polarization occurs, the lipid droplets become localized to the center of the embryo; surrounding the male and female pronuclei as they fuse to form the zygotic nucleus. This perinuclear localization persists in the two-cell embryo. In order to determine which genes are required for lipid droplet localization in the early embryo so we conducted a targeted RNAi analysis. We identified six genes that are required for the proper perinuclear localization of lipid droplets. These six genes encode proteins required for the establishment of the anterior-posterior axis as well as microtubule motor proteins, indicating that lipid droplet localization relies on microtubule networks regulated by the proteins controlling embryonic polarity.
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Details
- Title
- Lipid droplet localization in the early embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans
- Creators
- Emily Marie Larson
- Contributors
- Jennifer Lynn Watts (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Molecular Biosciences, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525046801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis