NOCA-1 functions with γ-tubulin and in parallel to Patronin to assemble non-centrosomal microtubule arrays in C. elegans
Shaohe Wang,
Di Wu,
Sophie Quintin,
Rebecca A Green,
Dhanya K Cheerambathur,
Stacy D Ochoa,
Arshad Desai,
Karen Oegema
Affiliations
Shaohe Wang
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Di Wu
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Sophie Quintin
Institut Génétique Biologie Moléculaire Ceasllulaire, Faculté de médecine, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France; Institut Clinique de la Souris, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
Rebecca A Green
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Dhanya K Cheerambathur
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Stacy D Ochoa
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Arshad Desai
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Karen Oegema
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, United States
Non-centrosomal microtubule arrays assemble in differentiated tissues to perform mechanical and transport-based functions. In this study, we identify Caenorhabditis elegans NOCA-1 as a protein with homology to vertebrate ninein. NOCA-1 contributes to the assembly of non-centrosomal microtubule arrays in multiple tissues. In the larval epidermis, NOCA-1 functions redundantly with the minus end protection factor Patronin/PTRN-1 to assemble a circumferential microtubule array essential for worm growth and morphogenesis. Controlled degradation of a γ-tubulin complex subunit in this tissue revealed that γ-tubulin acts with NOCA-1 in parallel to Patronin/PTRN-1. In the germline, NOCA-1 and γ-tubulin co-localize at the cell surface, and inhibiting either leads to a microtubule assembly defect. γ-tubulin targets independently of NOCA-1, but NOCA-1 targeting requires γ-tubulin when a non-essential putatively palmitoylated cysteine is mutated. These results show that NOCA-1 acts with γ-tubulin to assemble non-centrosomal arrays in multiple tissues and highlight functional overlap between the ninein and Patronin protein families.
