Handling Editor: David Stephens
ABSTRACT
Ciliogenesis is a coordinated process initiated by the recruitment and fusion of pre-ciliary vesicles at the distal appendages of the mother centriole through mechanisms that remain unclear. Here, we report that EFA6A (also known as PSD), an exchange factor for the small G protein Arf6, is involved in early stage of ciliogenesis by promoting the fusion of distal appendage vesicles forming the ciliary vesicle. EFA6A is present in the vicinity of the mother centriole before primary cilium assembly and prior to the arrival of Arl13B-containing vesicles. During ciliogenesis, EFA6A initially accumulates at the mother centriole and later colocalizes with Arl13B along the ciliary membrane. EFA6A depletion leads to the inhibition of ciliogenesis, the absence of centrosomal Rab8-positive structures and the accumulation of Arl13B-positive vesicles around the distal appendages. Our results uncover a novel fusion machinery, comprising EFA6A, Arf6 and Arl13B, that controls the coordinated fusion of ciliary vesicles docked at the distal appendages of the mother centriole.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: R.G., A.B., F.L., M.F.; Methodology: S.A., E.M., F.B.; Software: S.A., F.B.; Validation: M.P., C.L.B., R.F., S.P., S.L.-G., M.F.; Formal analysis: E.M.; Investigation: M.P., C.L.B., R.G., R.F., S.P., E.M., S.L.-G., M.F.; Resources: M.P., C.L.B., R.F.; Data curation: S.A.; Writing - original draft: A.B., F.L., M.F.; Writing - review & editing: M.F.; Supervision: S.L.-G., F.L.; M.F.; Project administration: M.F.; Funding acquisition: F.L., M.F.
Funding
This work is supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Association pour la Recherche contre le Cancer and the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR) through the Investissement pour le Futur Labex Signalife Program ref ANR-11Labx-0028-01. This work is also supported by State funding from the ANR under the ‘Investissements d'avenir’ program (ANR-10-IAHU-01).
Supplementary information
Supplementary information available online at https://jcs.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jcs.249565.supplemental
- Received May 28, 2020.
- Accepted November 20, 2020.
- © 2021. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 1 day for US$30.00 .
Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.
Article navigation
Related articles
Cited by...
More in this TOC section
Similar articles
Subject collections
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Introducing FocalPlane’s new Community Manager, Esperanza Agullo-Pascual
We are pleased to welcome Esperanza to the Journal of Cell Science team. The new Community Manager for FocalPlane, Esperanza is joining us from the Microscopy Core at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Find out more about Esperanza in her introductory post over on FocalPlane.
New funding scheme supports sustainable events
As part of our Sustainable Conferencing Initiative, we are pleased to announce funding for organisers that seek to reduce the environmental footprint of their event. The next deadline to apply for a Scientific Meeting grant is 26 March 2021.
Read & Publish participation continues to grow
"Alongside pre-printing for early documentation of work, such mechanisms are particularly helpful for early-career researchers like me.”
Dr Chris MacDonald (University of York) shares his experience of publishing Open Access as part of our growing Read & Publish initiative. We now have over 150 institutions in 15 countries and four library consortia taking part – find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.
Cell scientist to watch: Romain Levayer
In an interview, Romain Levayer talks about starting his own lab, his love for preprints and his experience of balancing parenting with his research goals.
Live lactating mammary tissue
In a stunning video, Stewart et al. demonstrate warping of the alveolar unit due to basal cell-generated force as part of their recent work investigating roles for mechanically activated ion channels in lactation and involution.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch more videos from JCS, our sister journals and the Company.
JCS and COVID-19
For more information on measures Journal of Cell Science is taking to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see here.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hestiate to contact the Editorial Office.