Mitochondrial trafficking through Rhot1 is involved in the aggregation of germinal granule components during primordial germ cell formation in Xenopus embryos

In this study, we focused on the mitochondrial small GTPase protein Rhot1 to inhibit mitochondrial trafficking during the germ plasm aggregation. Expression of Rhot1ΔC, which lacks the C‐terminal mitochondrial transmembrane domain, inhibited the aggregation of germline‐Mt during early development. In Rhot1‐inhibited embryos, germinal granule components did not aggregate during cleavage stages, which reduced the number of PGCs on the genital ridge at tail‐bud stage. These results suggest that mitochondrial trafficking is involved in the aggregation of germinal granule components, which are essential for the formation of PGCs.

Using Xenopus transgenic line with EGFP‐labeled mitochondria and truncated form of mitochondria‐anchor protein, we demonstrate that mitochondrial GTPase Rhot1 is essential for the aggregation of mitochondria and germinal granule components in germ plasm. Our results suggest that mitochondrial trafficking is involved in the aggregation of germinal granule components, which are essential for primordial germ cells formation.

Source: Development, Growth and Differentiation - July 31, 2016 Category: Research Authors: Haru Tada, Yuya Taira, Keisuke Morichika, Tsutomu Kinoshita Tags: Original Article Source Type: research