Ultrastructural analyses of the Caenorhabditis elegans rol-6 (su1006) mutant, which produces abnormal cuticle collagen

J Parasitol. 1998 Feb;84(1):45-9.

Abstract

Roller mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans rotate around their long axis and move in circular paths. Isolation and sequence of the rol-6 gene of C. elegans have shown that it encodes a cuticle collagen. In this paper, we describe the morphological alterations seen in the cuticle of the right roller mutant rol-6 (su1006) at the ultrastructural level. Deep-etched replica analyses showed that the honeycomb elements, fibers organized in a pentagonal fashion above the fishbone fibrous layer, completely fill the intermediate layer, which is observed to be largely empty spaces in the wild-type strain. The honeycomb fibers appear to connect the cortical and basal regions of the mutant cuticle. These fibers are likely to be involved in generating the helical twist of the mutant animals. Deep-etched replicas also revealed a delicate network of filaments on the nematode surface.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / ultrastructure*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins*
  • Collagen / genetics*
  • Freeze Etching
  • Helminth Proteins / genetics*
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Mutation
  • Phenotype

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Helminth Proteins
  • rol-6 protein, C elegans
  • Collagen