Project description:Unusual DNA packaging characteristics in endo-reduplicated C. elegans oocytes defined by in vivo accessibility to an endogenous nuclease activity
Project description:The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is often used as a model organism to study cell and developmental biology. Quantitative mass spectrometry has only recently been performed in C. elegans and, so far, most studies have been done on adult worm samples. Here we use quantitative mass spectrometry to characterise protein level changes across the four larval developmental stages (L1-L4) of C. elegans, in biological triplicate. In total, we identify 4,130 proteins and quantify 1,541 proteins that were identified across all four stages in all three biological repeats with at least 2 unique peptides per protein. Using hierarchical clustering and functional ontological analyses, we identify 21 protein groups containing proteins with similar protein profiles across the four stages, and highlight the most overrepresented biological functions in each of these protein clusters. In addition, we use the dataset to identify putative larval stage specific proteins in each individual developmental stage, as well as in the early and late developmental stages. In summary, this dataset provides a system-wide analysis of protein level changes across the four C. elegans larval developmental stages, which serves as a useful resource for the worm development research community.
Project description:Natural genetic variation is the raw material of evolution and influences disease development and progression. To analyze the effect of the genetic background on protein expression in the nematode C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans), the two genetically highly divergent wild-type strains N2 (Bristol) and CB4856 (Hawaii) were compared quantitatively. In total, we quantified 3,238 unique proteins in three independent SILAC (stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture) experiments. The differentially expressed proteins were enriched for genes that function in insulin-signaling and stress response pathways.