Functional analysis of GS28, an intra-Golgi SNARE, in Caenorhabditis elegans

Genes Cells. 2009 Aug;14(8):1003-13. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2443.2009.01325.x. Epub 2009 Jul 17.

Abstract

Intra-Golgi retrograde transport is assumed to maintain Golgi function by recycling Golgi-resident proteins to younger cisternae in the progression of entire Golgi stack from cis to trans. GS28 (Golgi SNARE of 28 kDa, also known as GOS28) is a Golgi-localized SNARE protein and has been implicated in intra-Golgi retrograde transport. However, the in vivo functions of GS28, and consequently, the roles of the intra-Golgi retrograde transport in animal development are largely unknown. In this study, we generated deletion mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans GS28 and performed a synthetic lethal RNAi screen using GS28 mutants. We found that another Golgi-localized SNARE, Ykt6, functions cooperatively with GS28 in embryonic development. During post-embryonic development, GS28 mutants exhibited reduced seam cell numbers and a missing ray phenotype under Ykt6 knockdown conditions, suggesting that cell proliferation and/or differentiation of stem cell-like seam cells are impaired in GS28- and Ykt6-depleted worms. We also demonstrated that GS28 and Ykt6 act redundantly for the proper expression of Golgi-resident proteins in adult intestinal cells. This study reveals the in vivo importance of the Golgi-localized SNAREs GS28 and Ykt6.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / embryology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Epithelial Cells / cytology
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Golgi Apparatus / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • R-SNARE Proteins / genetics
  • R-SNARE Proteins / metabolism*
  • RNA Interference
  • SNARE Proteins / genetics
  • SNARE Proteins / metabolism*
  • Stem Cells / cytology

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • R-SNARE Proteins
  • SNARE Proteins
  • YKT6 protein, human