TY  - GEN
T1  - Caenorhabditis elegans expressing a Vitellogenin::GFP fusion protein show reduced embryo content and brood size
AU  - Erdmann, Emily A.
AU  - Abraham, Olivia
AU  - Hundley, Heather A.
DO  - 10.17912/micropub.biology.000532
UR  - http://beta.micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-000532/
AB  - Vitellogenins are the most conserved family of yolk proteins in oviparous animals, wherein the proteins are typically synthesized in extraovarian organs, secreted to fluid of a circulatory system and taken up by the ovary (Ramos et al. 2022). In C. elegans, vitellogenins are synthesized in the intestine, transported into the body cavity, and taken up by developing oocytes through receptor-mediated endocytosis to provide a source of nutrients for the developing embryo (Grant and Hirsh 1999; Hall et al. 1999; Kimble and Sharrock 1983). C. elegans has six vitellogenin genes (vit-1 – vit-6), which combine to make up four major yolk proteins: YP170A and YP170B, YP115, and YP88 (Perez and Lehner 2019). To visualize the process of yolk uptake by oocytes, many published studies have made use of worms expressing an integrated transgene coding for a fusion protein of green fluorescent protein (GFP) with VIT-2, the most abundantly expressed C. elegans vitellogenin (Grant and Hirsh 1999). This fusion protein construct has been used in several studies as not only a means of visualizing yolk uptake via receptor-mediated endocytosis, but also as a means of quantifying embryo content and brood size in a variety of genetic backgrounds (Balklava et al. 2016; Grant and Hirsh 1999; Van Rompay et al. 2015). Here we report that wild-type strains expressing this VIT-2::GFP construct have a phenotype of reduced embryo production, resulting in fewer embryos contained in adult animals at any time as well as a markedly reduced brood size compared to N2 animals. We urge future studies to consider the effects of the vit-2::gfp transgene on normal reproduction when making conclusions about data generated using these strains, and to compare all experimental findings to a wild-type strain where possible.
PY  - 2022
JO  - microPublication Biology
ER  -