The Roles of Sperm Factors in Early C. elegans Embryogenesis

早期胚胎发育的正常程序启动 当卵母细胞被精子受精时。 的机制 精子激活卵母细胞和精子成分在其中的作用 胚胎发育的过程和后期阶段尚不清楚。 该项目采用遗传和分子相结合的方法， 为了研究这个问题，我们用秀丽隐杆线虫 作为一个模型系统。 PI已经发现了一个基因， 编码精子提供的启动所需的产物 C.早期胚胎发育的正确程序。 优雅 这种基因的突变，称为SPE-11，导致 父系效应胚胎致死率：野生型卵母细胞，当 由变异蠕虫的精子受精， 早期发展和死亡。 这并不是因为存在一个 突变精子中的“有毒产物”，但水平降低， 不存在野生型产物。 因此，野生型SPE-11产物 直接或间接参与发起 C语言早期开发的标准程序。优雅 这个项目 有两个主要目的：1）克隆和分子表征 spe-11基因，并将spe-11基因产物定位于精子中， 刚受精的胚胎 2)进行额外的筛选， 父系效应胚胎致死突变，这将确定 其他编码精子供应因子的基因， 正常的胚胎发育。 这一努力将补充 关于卵母细胞因子的丰富信息，并将开始定义 精子对早期胚胎发育的贡献

The normal program of early embryonic development is initiated when an oocyte is fertilized by a sperm. The mechanism by which sperm activate oocytes and the role of sperm components in this process and in later stages of embryogenesis are not understood. This project takes a combined genetic and molecular approach to studying this problem, using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system. The PI has already identified a gene that encodes a sperm-supplied product that is required for initiation of the correct program of early embryonic development in C. elegans. Mutations in this gene, called spe-11, result in paternal-effect embryonic lethality: wild-type oocytes, when fertilized by sperm from mutant worms, undergo very abnormal early development and die. This is not due to the presence of a "poisonous product" in mutant sperm but to reduced levels or absence of wild-type product. Thus, wild-type spe-11 product participates, either directly or indirectly, in initiating the normal program of early development in C. elegans. This project has two major aims: 1) To clone and molecularly characterize the spe-11 gene, and localize the spe-11 gene product in sperm and newly fertilized embryos. 2) To carry out screens for additional paternal-effect embryonic-lethal mutations, which will identify other genes that encode sperm-supplied factors required for normal embryo development. This effort will complement the wealth of information on oocyte factors and will begin to define the sperm's contributions to early embryogenesis.