Dataset Information

Bucky ball functions in Balbiani body assembly and animal-vegetal polarity in the oocyte and follicle cell layer in zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: The Balbiani body is an evolutionarily conserved asymmetric aggregate of organelles that is present in early oocytes of all animals examined, including humans. Although first identified more than 150 years ago, genes acting in the assembly of the Balbiani body have not been identified in a vertebrate. Here we show that the bucky ball gene in the zebrafish is required to assemble this universal aggregate of organelles. In the absence of bucky ball the Balbiani body fails to form, and vegetal mRNAs are not localized in oocytes. In contrast, animal pole localized oocyte markers are expanded into vegetal regions in bucky ball mutants, but patterning within the expanded animal pole remains intact. Interestingly, in bucky ball mutants an excessive number of cells within the somatic follicle cell layer surrounding the oocyte develop as micropylar cells, an animal pole specific cell fate. The single micropyle permits sperm to fertilize the egg in zebrafish. In bucky ball mutants, excess micropyles cause polyspermy. Thus bucky ball provides the first genetic access to Balbiani body formation in a vertebrate. We demonstrate that bucky ball functions during early oogenesis to regulate polarity of the oocyte, future egg and embryo. Finally, the expansion of animal identity in oocytes and somatic follicle cells suggests that somatic cell fate and oocyte polarity are interdependent.

SUBMITTER: Marlow FL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2606906 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bucky ball functions in Balbiani body assembly and animal-vegetal polarity in the oocyte and follicle cell layer in zebrafish.

Marlow Florence L FL Mullins Mary C MC

Developmental biology 20080609 1

The Balbiani body is an evolutionarily conserved asymmetric aggregate of organelles that is present in early oocytes of all animals examined, including humans. Although first identified more than 150 years ago, genes acting in the assembly of the Balbiani body have not been identified in a vertebrate. Here we show that the bucky ball gene in the zebrafish is required to assemble this universal aggregate of organelles. In the absence of bucky ball the Balbiani body fails to form, and vegetal mRNA ...[more]

PMID: 18582455

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Project description:The Balbiani body (Bb) is the first marker of polarity in vertebrate oocytes. The Bb is a conserved structure found in diverse animals including insects, fish, amphibians, and mammals. During early zebrafish oogenesis, the Bb assembles as a transient aggregate of mRNA, proteins, and membrane-bound organelles at the presumptive vegetal side of the oocyte. As the early oocyte develops, the Bb appears to grow slowly, until at the end of stage I of oogenesis it disassembles and deposits its cargo of localized mRNAs and proteins. In fish and frogs, this cargo includes the germ plasm as well as gene products required to specify dorsal tissues of the future embryo. We demonstrate that the Bb is a stable, solid structure that forms a size exclusion barrier similar to other biological hydrogels. Despite its central role in oocyte polarity, little is known about the mechanism behind the Bb's action. Analysis of the few known protein components of the Bb is insufficient to explain how the Bb assembles, translocates, and disassembles. We isolated Bbs from zebrafish oocytes and performed mass spectrometry to define the Bb proteome. We successfully identified 77 proteins associated with the Bb sample, including known Bb proteins and novel RNA-binding proteins. In particular, we identified Cirbpa and Cirbpb, which have both an RNA-binding domain and a predicted self-aggregation domain. In stage I oocytes, Cirbpa and Cirbpb localize to the Bb rather than the nucleus (as in somatic cells), indicating that they may have a specialized function in the germ line. Both the RNA-binding domain and the self-aggregation domain are sufficient to localize to the Bb, suggesting that Cirbpa and Cirbpb interact with more than just their mRNA targets within the Bb. We propose that Cirbp proteins crosslink mRNA cargo and proteinaceous components of the Bb as it grows. Beyond Cirbpa and Cirbpb, our proteomics dataset presents many candidates for further study, making it a valuable resource for building a comprehensive mechanism for Bb function at a protein level.

Dataset Information

Bucky ball functions in Balbiani body assembly and animal-vegetal polarity in the oocyte and follicle cell layer in zebrafish.

Publications

Bucky ball functions in Balbiani body assembly and animal-vegetal polarity in the oocyte and follicle cell layer in zebrafish.

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