Anchorage of H3K9-methylated heterochromatin to the nuclear periphery helps mediate P-cell nuclear migration though constricted spaces in .

Nuclei adjust their deformability while migrating through constrictions to enable structural changes and maintain nuclear integrity. The effect of heterochromatin anchored at the nucleoplasmic face of the inner nuclear membrane on nuclear morphology and deformability during nuclear migration through constricted spaces remains unclear. Here, we show that abolishing peripheral heterochromatin anchorage by eliminating CEC-4, a chromodomain protein that tethers H3K9-methylated chromatin to the nuclear periphery, disrupts constrained P-cell nuclear migration in larvae in the absence of the established LINC complex-dependent pathway.

Split-GFP lamin as a tool for studying LMN-1 dynamics .

We engineered a fluorescent fusion protein of lamin, by fusing the eleventh beta strand of GFP to the N-terminus of LMN-1 at the endogenous locus. When co-expressed with GFP1-10, GFP11::LMN-1 was observed at the nuclear periphery of a wide variety of somatic cells. Homozygous animals had normal numbers of viable embryos.

Caenorhabditis elegans models for striated muscle disorders caused by missense variants of human LMNA.

Striated muscle laminopathies caused by missense mutations in the nuclear lamin gene LMNA are characterized by cardiac dysfunction and often skeletal muscle defects. Attempts to predict which LMNA variants are pathogenic and to understand their physiological effects lag behind variant discovery. We created Caenorhabditis elegans models for striated muscle laminopathies by introducing pathogenic human LMNA variants and variants of unknown significance at conserved residues within the lmn-1 gene.

A Nesprin-4/kinesin-1 cargo model for nuclear positioning in cochlear outer hair cells.

Nuclear positioning is important for the functionality of many cell types and is mediated by interactions of cytoskeletal elements and nucleoskeleton proteins. Nesprin proteins, part of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex, have been shown to participate in nuclear positioning in multiple cell types. Outer hair cells (OHCs) in the inner ear are specialized sensory epithelial cells that utilize somatic electromotility to amplify auditory signals in the cochlea.

The signaling peptide-encoding genes CLE16, CLE17 and CLE27 are dispensable for Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem activity.

The shoot apical meristem produces all of the leaves, stems and flowers of a flowering plant from a reservoir of stem cells at its growing tip. In Arabidopsis, the small polypeptide signaling molecule CLAVATA3 (CLV3), a member of the CLV3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-RELATED (CLE) gene family, is a key component of a negative feedback loop that maintains stem cell activity in shoot and floral meristems throughout development. Because in some plant species multiple CLE genes are involved in regulating shoot apical meristem activity, we tested the hypothesis that CLE genes other than CLV3 might function in stem cell homeostasis in Arabidopsis.