Abstract
The conserved adapter protein Scribble (Scrib) plays essential roles in a variety of cellular processes, including polarity establishment, proliferation, and directed cell migration. While the mechanisms through which Scrib promotes epithelial polarity are beginning to be unraveled, its roles in other cellular processes including cell migration remain enigmatic. In C. elegans, the Scrib ortholog LET-413 is essential for apical-basal polarization and junction formation in embryonic epithelia. However, whether LET-413 is required for postembryonic development or plays a role in migratory events is not known. Here, we use inducible protein degradation to investigate the functioning of LET-413 in larval epithelia. We find that LET-413 is essential in the epidermal epithelium for growth, viability, and junction maintenance. In addition, we identify a novel role for LET-413 in the polarized outgrowth of the epidermal seam cells. These stem cell-like epithelial cells extend anterior and posterior directed apical protrusions in each larval stage to reconnect to their neighbors. We show that the role of LET-413 in seam cell outgrowth is likely mediated largely by the junctional component DLG-1 discs large, which we demonstrate is also essential for directed outgrowth of the seam cells. Our data uncover multiple essential functions for LET-413 in larval development and show that the polarized outgrowth of the epithelial seam cells is controlled by LET-413 Scribble and DLG-1 Discs large.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e1009856 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-30 |
| Journal | PLoS Genetics |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 21 Oct 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Oct 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO)-ALW Open Program 824.14.021 and NWO-VICI 016.VICI.170.165 grants to M. B., and the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie grant agreement No. 675407 ? PolarNet to M.B. and S.v.d.H. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Riga et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
