The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i>
During sexual reproduction, the freshwater ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> sheds membrane-bound vesicles into the extracellular environment (cEMVs: ciliary extracellular micro-vesicles). We provide evidence that 100 nm vesicles shed from the cilia of starved cells promote mating b...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Eric S. Cole Oleksandr Dmytrenko Mark Li Neetij Krishnan Josh Thorp LeeAnn Higgins Todd Markowski Garry Morgan Eileen O’Toole |
| author_facet | Eric S. Cole Oleksandr Dmytrenko Mark Li Neetij Krishnan Josh Thorp LeeAnn Higgins Todd Markowski Garry Morgan Eileen O’Toole |
| author_sort | Eric S. Cole |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During sexual reproduction, the freshwater ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> sheds membrane-bound vesicles into the extracellular environment (cEMVs: ciliary extracellular micro-vesicles). We provide evidence that 100 nm vesicles shed from the cilia of starved cells promote mating between cells of complementary mating types. A proteomic analysis revealed that these EMVs are decorated with mating-type proteins expressed from the MAT locus, proteins that define a cell’s sex (one of seven). Once the mating junction is established between cells, smaller 60 nm vesicles (junction vesicles) appear within the extracellular gap that separates mating partners. Junction vesicles (jEMVs) may play a role in remodeling the mating junction through which gametic pronuclei are exchanged. Evidence is presented demonstrating that cells must be able to internalize extracellular signals via some form of endocytosis in order to trigger conjugation. Finally, an evolutionarily conserved fusogen (Hap2) implicated in pore formation also appears necessary for jEMV processing. This system offers an excellent opportunity for studies on ectosome shedding, intercellular signaling and shed vesicle uptake by macro-pinocytosis, as they relate to sexual reproduction in the ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i>. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-84bb5bd2712e45de94de59e0e5ce49c8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-84bb5bd2712e45de94de59e0e5ce49c82025-08-20T03:13:58ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-04-0113480310.3390/microorganisms13040803The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i>Eric S. Cole0Oleksandr Dmytrenko1Mark Li2Neetij Krishnan3Josh Thorp4LeeAnn Higgins5Todd Markowski6Garry Morgan7Eileen O’Toole8Biology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057, USACenter for Cardiovascular Research, Departmental of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Campus Box 8086, St. Louis, MO 63110, USADivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard, Medical School, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USADepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USABiology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN 55057, USACenter for Metabolomics and Proteomics, Department of BMBB, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USACenter for Metabolomics and Proteomics, Department of BMBB, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USABoulder Electron Microcopy Facility, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USABoulder Electron Microcopy Facility, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USADuring sexual reproduction, the freshwater ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> sheds membrane-bound vesicles into the extracellular environment (cEMVs: ciliary extracellular micro-vesicles). We provide evidence that 100 nm vesicles shed from the cilia of starved cells promote mating between cells of complementary mating types. A proteomic analysis revealed that these EMVs are decorated with mating-type proteins expressed from the MAT locus, proteins that define a cell’s sex (one of seven). Once the mating junction is established between cells, smaller 60 nm vesicles (junction vesicles) appear within the extracellular gap that separates mating partners. Junction vesicles (jEMVs) may play a role in remodeling the mating junction through which gametic pronuclei are exchanged. Evidence is presented demonstrating that cells must be able to internalize extracellular signals via some form of endocytosis in order to trigger conjugation. Finally, an evolutionarily conserved fusogen (Hap2) implicated in pore formation also appears necessary for jEMV processing. This system offers an excellent opportunity for studies on ectosome shedding, intercellular signaling and shed vesicle uptake by macro-pinocytosis, as they relate to sexual reproduction in the ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/4/803ciliates<i>Tetrahymena</i>conjugationco-stimulationectosomesEMVs |
| spellingShingle | Eric S. Cole Oleksandr Dmytrenko Mark Li Neetij Krishnan Josh Thorp LeeAnn Higgins Todd Markowski Garry Morgan Eileen O’Toole The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> Microorganisms ciliates <i>Tetrahymena</i> conjugation co-stimulation ectosomes EMVs |
| title | The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> |
| title_full | The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> |
| title_short | The Role of Membrane-Bound Extracellular Vesicles During Co-Stimulation and Conjugation in the Ciliate <i>Tetrahymena thermophila</i> |
| title_sort | role of membrane bound extracellular vesicles during co stimulation and conjugation in the ciliate i tetrahymena thermophila i |
| topic | ciliates <i>Tetrahymena</i> conjugation co-stimulation ectosomes EMVs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/4/803 |
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