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Vol. 15, Issue 6, 2782-2793, June 2004

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Tropomyosin and Troponin Are Required for Ovarian Contraction in the Caenorhabditis elegans Reproductive System

Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322

Submitted March 4, 2004; Revised March 23, 2004; Accepted March 24, 2004
Monitoring Editor: David Drubin

Ovulation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is coordinated by interactions between the somatic gonad and germ cells. Myoepithelial sheath cells of the proximal ovary are smooth muscle-like cells, but the regulatory mechanism of their contraction is unknown. We show that contraction of the ovarian muscle requires tropomyosin and troponin, which are generally major actin-linked regulators of contraction of striated muscle. RNA interference of tropomyosin or troponin C caused sterility by inhibiting ovarian contraction that is required for expelling mature oocytes into the spermatheca where fertilization takes place, thus causing accumulation of endomitotic oocytes in the ovary. Tropomyosin and troponin C were associated with actin filaments in the myoepithelial sheath, and the association of troponin C with actin was dependent on tropomyosin. A mutation in the actin depolymerizing factor/cofilin gene suppressed the ovulation defects by RNA interference of tropomyosin or troponin C. These results strongly suggest that tropomyosin and troponin are the actin-linked regulators for contraction of ovarian muscle in the C. elegans reproductive system.

Online version of this article contains supporting material. Online version is available at www.molbiolcell.org.

^* Corresponding author. E-mail: sono{at}emory.edu.

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