Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish

How cells regulate the size of their organelles remains a fundamental question in cell biology. Cilia, with their simple structure and surface localization, provide an ideal model for investigating organelle size control. However, most studies on cilia length regulation are primarily performed on se...

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Main Authors: Yi Sun, Zhe Chen, Minjun Jin, Haibo Xie, Chengtian Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2024-12-01
Series:eLife
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Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/93168
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author Yi Sun
Zhe Chen
Minjun Jin
Haibo Xie
Chengtian Zhao
author_facet Yi Sun
Zhe Chen
Minjun Jin
Haibo Xie
Chengtian Zhao
author_sort Yi Sun
collection DOAJ
description How cells regulate the size of their organelles remains a fundamental question in cell biology. Cilia, with their simple structure and surface localization, provide an ideal model for investigating organelle size control. However, most studies on cilia length regulation are primarily performed on several single-celled organisms. In contrast, the mechanism of length regulation in cilia across diverse cell types within multicellular organisms remains a mystery. Similar to humans, zebrafish contain diverse types of cilia with variable lengths. Taking advantage of the transparency of zebrafish embryos, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into intraflagellar transport (IFT), an essential process for ciliogenesis. By generating a transgenic line carrying Ift88-GFP transgene, we observed IFT in multiple types of cilia with varying lengths. Remarkably, cilia exhibited variable IFT speeds in different cell types, with longer cilia exhibiting faster IFT speeds. This increased IFT speed in longer cilia is likely not due to changes in common factors that regulate IFT, such as motor selection, BBSome proteins, or tubulin modification. Interestingly, longer cilia in the ear cristae tend to form larger IFT compared to shorter spinal cord cilia. Reducing the size of IFT particles by knocking down Ift88 slowed IFT speed and resulted in the formation of shorter cilia. Our study proposes an intriguing model of cilia length regulation via controlling IFT speed through the modulation of the size of the IFT complex. This discovery may provide further insights into our understanding of how organelle size is regulated in higher vertebrates.
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spelling doaj-art-8c2097bdbaf3432fb71b8b976b9ffbd52025-08-20T02:38:39ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-12-011310.7554/eLife.93168Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafishYi Sun0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7295-7412Zhe Chen1https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8988-6225Minjun Jin2Haibo Xie3Chengtian Zhao4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1236-914XInstitute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Fang Zongxi Center for Marine Evo Devo, MOE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, ChinaInstitute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences and MOE Key Laboratory for Protein Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Fang Zongxi Center for Marine Evo Devo, MOE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, ChinaInstitute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Fang Zongxi Center for Marine Evo Devo, MOE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, ChinaInstitute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Fang Zongxi Center for Marine Evo Devo, MOE Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, ChinaHow cells regulate the size of their organelles remains a fundamental question in cell biology. Cilia, with their simple structure and surface localization, provide an ideal model for investigating organelle size control. However, most studies on cilia length regulation are primarily performed on several single-celled organisms. In contrast, the mechanism of length regulation in cilia across diverse cell types within multicellular organisms remains a mystery. Similar to humans, zebrafish contain diverse types of cilia with variable lengths. Taking advantage of the transparency of zebrafish embryos, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into intraflagellar transport (IFT), an essential process for ciliogenesis. By generating a transgenic line carrying Ift88-GFP transgene, we observed IFT in multiple types of cilia with varying lengths. Remarkably, cilia exhibited variable IFT speeds in different cell types, with longer cilia exhibiting faster IFT speeds. This increased IFT speed in longer cilia is likely not due to changes in common factors that regulate IFT, such as motor selection, BBSome proteins, or tubulin modification. Interestingly, longer cilia in the ear cristae tend to form larger IFT compared to shorter spinal cord cilia. Reducing the size of IFT particles by knocking down Ift88 slowed IFT speed and resulted in the formation of shorter cilia. Our study proposes an intriguing model of cilia length regulation via controlling IFT speed through the modulation of the size of the IFT complex. This discovery may provide further insights into our understanding of how organelle size is regulated in higher vertebrates.https://elifesciences.org/articles/93168ciliaIFTzebrafish
spellingShingle Yi Sun
Zhe Chen
Minjun Jin
Haibo Xie
Chengtian Zhao
Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
eLife
cilia
IFT
zebrafish
title Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
title_full Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
title_fullStr Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
title_full_unstemmed Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
title_short Ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
title_sort ciliary length regulation by intraflagellar transport in zebrafish
topic cilia
IFT
zebrafish
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/93168
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AT zhechen ciliarylengthregulationbyintraflagellartransportinzebrafish
AT minjunjin ciliarylengthregulationbyintraflagellartransportinzebrafish
AT haiboxie ciliarylengthregulationbyintraflagellartransportinzebrafish
AT chengtianzhao ciliarylengthregulationbyintraflagellartransportinzebrafish