In vivo interaction proteomics in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos provides new insights into P granule dynamics

Jia Xuan Chen, Patricia G. Cipriani, Desirea Mecenas, Jolanta Polanowska, Fabio Piano, Kristin C. Gunsalus, Matthias Selbach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Studying protein interactions in whole organisms is fundamental to understanding development. Here, we combine in vivo expressed GFP-tagged proteins with quantitative proteomics to identify protein-protein interactions of selected key proteins involved in early C. Elegans embryogenesis. Co-affinity purification of interaction partners for eight bait proteins resulted in a pilot in vivo interaction map of proteins with a focus on early development. Our network reflects known biology and is highly enriched in functionally relevant interactions. To demonstrate the utility of the map, we looked for new regulators of P granule dynamics and found that GEI-12, a novel binding partner of the DYRK family kinase MBK-2, is a key regulator of P granule formation and germline maintenance. Our data corroborate a recently proposed model in which the phosphorylation state of GEI-12 controls P granule dynamics. In addition, we find that GEI-12 also induces granule formation in mammalian cells, suggesting a common regulatory mechanism in worms and humans. Our results show that in vivo interaction proteomics provides unique insights into animal development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1642-1657
Number of pages16
JournalMolecular and Cellular Proteomics
Volume15
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

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