Transcriptome dataset of responses to varied microbial pathogens.

Transcriptome analysis through next-generation sequencing (NGS) is an invaluable tool for investigating changes in gene expression across diverse organisms. The nematode () serves as an excellent model organism for dissecting host responses to bacterial infections. Here, our dataset obtained from bulk RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) can be used to provide in-depth characterization of the mRNA transcriptome profiles of wild-type N2 animals and null mutants of the cytoskeletal regulatory gene /Nav2 following exposure to distinct bacterial environments: their natural laboratory food source, OP50, the human and nematode pathogen PA14, and the emerging pathogen Ag1.

Abelson interactor-1 (ABI-1) interacts with MRL adaptor protein MIG-10 and is required in guided cell migrations and process outgrowth in C. elegans.

Directed cell migration and process outgrowth are vital to proper development of many metazoan tissues. These processes are dependent on reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in response to external guidance cues. During development of the nervous system, the MIG-10/RIAM/Lamellipodin (MRL) signaling proteins are thought to transmit positional information from surface guidance cues to the actin polymerization machinery, and thus to promote polarized outgrowth of axons.

Live cell imaging of the cytoskeleton.

The cytoskeleton is the network of cytoplasmic protein filaments, composed of microtubules (MTs), actin filaments, and intermediate filaments, that provides an internal scaffold to give the cell shape. The organization of the cytoskeleton is not static but rather rearranges to enable a variety of fundamental cellular processes including chromosome segregation, cytokinesis, cell migration, cell polarity, cell adhesion, neuron outgrowth, chemotaxis, muscle contraction, cytoplasmic streaming, locomotion by flagella, subcellular organelle distribution, and intracellular trafficking. Given this multifunctional role, it is not surprising that cytoskeletal defects have been associated with a large variety of human diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, muscular dystrophies, and cardiac disorders.

Distinct cell guidance pathways controlled by the Rac and Rho GEF domains of UNC-73/TRIO in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The cytoskeleton regulator UNC-53/NAV2 is required for both the anterior and posterior outgrowth of several neurons as well as that of the excretory cell while the kinesin-like motor VAB-8 is essential for most posteriorly directed migrations in Caenorhabditis elegans. Null mutations in either unc-53 or vab-8 result in reduced posterior excretory canal outgrowth, while double null mutants display an enhanced canal extension defect, suggesting the genes act in separate pathways to control this posteriorly directed outgrowth. Genetic analysis of putative interactors of UNC-53 or VAB-8, and cell-specific rescue experiments suggest that VAB-8, SAX-3/ROBO, SLT-1/Slit, and EVA-1 are functioning together in the outgrowth of the excretory canals, while UNC-53 appears to function in a parallel pathway with UNC-71/ADAM.

Navigating the cell: UNC-53 and the navigators, a family of cytoskeletal regulators with multiple roles in cell migration, outgrowth and trafficking.

Changes in cell shape are associated with a variety of processes including cell migration, axon outgrowth, cell division and vesicle trafficking. C. elegans UNC-53 and its vertebrate homologs, the Navigators, are required for the migration of cells and the outgrowth of neuronal processes.

The cell migration molecule UNC-53/NAV2 is linked to the ARP2/3 complex by ABI-1.

The shape changes that are required to position a cell to migrate or grow out in a particular direction involve a coordinated reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Although it is known that the ARP2/3 complex nucleates actin filament assembly, exactly how the information from guidance cues is integrated to elicit ARP2/3-mediated remodeling during outgrowth remains vague. Previous studies have shown that C.