Control of organ shape by a secreted metalloprotease in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Robert Blelloch and Judith Kimble ()
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Robert Blelloch: Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Judith Kimble: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Nature, 1999, vol. 399, issue 6736, 586-590

Abstract: Abstract The molecular controls governing organ shape are poorly understood. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the gonad acquires a U-shape by the directed migration of a specialized ‘leader’ cell, which is located at the tip of the growing gonadal ‘arm’1. The gon-1 gene is essential for gonadal morphogenesis: ingon-1 mutants, no arm elongation occurs and somatic gonadal structures are severely malformed2. Here we report that gon-1 encodes a secreted protein with a metalloprotease domain and multiple thrombospondin type-1-like repeats. This motif architecture is typical of a small family of genes that include bovine procollagen I N-protease (P1NP), which cleaves collagen3, and murine ADAMTS-1, the expression of which correlates with tumour cell progression4. We find that gon-1 is expressed in two sites, leader cells and muscle, and that expression in each site has a unique role in forming the gonad. We speculate that GON-1 controls morphogenesis by remodelling basement membranes and that regulation of its activity is crucial for achieving organ shape.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/21196

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