The tail domain is essential but the head domain dispensable for C. elegans intermediate filament IFA-2 function

The intermediate filament protein IFA-2 is essential for the structural integrity of the Caenorhabditis elegans epidermis. It is one of the major components of the fibrous organelle, an epidermal structure comprised of apical and basal hemidesmosomes linked by cytoplasmic intermediate filaments that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-03, Vol.10 (3), p.e0119282-e0119282
Main Authors: Williams, Kyle, Williams, Kristen, Baucher, Hallie M, Plenefisch, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans - growth & development
Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - chemistry
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism
Epidermis
Filaments
Fragility
Hemidesmosomes
Intermediate filament proteins
Intermediate Filament Proteins - chemistry
Intermediate Filament Proteins - genetics
Intermediate Filament Proteins - metabolism
Intermediate filaments
Intermediate Filaments - metabolism
Keratin
Localization
Microbiological research
Muscles
Mutation
Nematodes
Organelles
Organelles - metabolism
Phosphorylation
Physiological aspects
Protein Structure, Tertiary
Proteins
Structural integrity
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Summary:The intermediate filament protein IFA-2 is essential for the structural integrity of the Caenorhabditis elegans epidermis. It is one of the major components of the fibrous organelle, an epidermal structure comprised of apical and basal hemidesmosomes linked by cytoplasmic intermediate filaments that serve to transmit force from the muscle to the cuticle. Mutations of IFA-2 result in epidermal fragility and separation of the apical and basal epidermal surfaces during postembryonic growth. An IFA-2 lacking the head domain fully rescues the IFA-2 null mutant, whereas an IFA-2 lacking the tail domain cannot. Conversely, an isolated IFA-2 head was able to localize to fibrous organelles whereas the tail was not. Taken together these results suggest that the head domain contains redundant signals for IF localization, whereas non-redundant essential functions map to the IFA-2, tail, although the tail is unlikely to be directly involved in fibrous organelle localization.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0119282