Rho GTPase regulation during caenorhabditis elegans embryonic elongation

在多细胞生物体中，组织和器官的发育涉及细胞大小、形状和组织的变化。这需要细胞之间进行高水平的通信。Rho GTP酶是控制这些事件的关键信号蛋白。然而，到目前为止，人们对这些蛋白质的调控和组织形成的控制方式知之甚少。我们使用微小的炉底蠕虫-秀丽线虫作为模型系统来研究Rho GTP酶在胚胎发育的特定阶段(称为伸长)的调节。这一发育阶段使球形胚胎能够转化为蠕虫状幼虫。胚胎的伸长需要肌肉和表皮细胞之间的沟通，可能涉及五种不同的Rho GTP酶。我们最近发现了两个控制这些GTP酶在伸长过程中功能的新基因。我们的数据表明，这些蛋白质将控制细胞形状和大小的变化，细胞内膜的运输，以及细胞-细胞和细胞-基质相互作用的调节。我们的研究项目使用计算机科学和生物统计学来检验这些假说，并识别控制伸长的新基因。它还使用遗传学和细胞生物学的方法来验证这些假说。我们的研究计划将提供对多细胞生物体中组织发育的更好理解。这将构成对细胞和发育生物学的重大贡献。这项工作还将导致新的生物信息学方法的发展，以确定基因之间的功能关系。我们的工作将极大地促进加拿大系统生物学的发展。

In multicellular organisms, tissue and organ development involves changes of cell size, shape and organization. This requires a high level of communication between cells. Rho GTPases are key signaling proteins controlling these events. However, to date, the way these proteins are regulated and control tissue formation is barely understood. We use the microscopic hearth worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, as a model system to study the regulation of Rho GTPase during a specific stage of embryonic development called elongation. This developmental stage enables transformation of the spherical embryo into a vermiform larva. Elongation of the embryo requires communication between muscles and epidermal cells and may involve five different Rho GTPases. We recently identified two novel genes controlling the function of these GTPases during elongation. Our data suggest data these proteins would control changes of cell shape and size, the traffic of intracellular membranes and the modulation of cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction. Our research program uses computer sciences and biostatistics to test these hypotheses and to identify new genes controlling elongation. It also uses genetics and cell biology approaches to validate these hypotheses. Our research program will provide a better understanding of tissue development in multicellular organisms. This will constitute a major contribution to cell and developmental biology. This work will also lead to the development of novel bioinformatics methods to identify functional relationship between genes. Our work will then significantly contribute to the advancement of systems biology in Canada.