A conserved role of Furry in cellular polarization and morphogenesis

CERVINO, AILEN; MORETTI, BRUNO; GRECCO, HERNÁN; CIRIO, MARÍA CECILIA

Congreso; LASDB Meeting 2019 Xth Meeting of the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology; 2019

Cell polarization is essential during embryogenesis driving asymmetric cell division, cell migration and morphogenesis. Disruption of cell polarity results in abnormal cell behavior and is known to cause congenital anomalies. Furry (Fry) gene encodes an evolutionarily conserved protein with a wide variety of cellular functions. In flies, nematodes and yeasts, Fry orthologs control cell polarization and morphogenesis serving as activators of nuclear Dbf-2-related (NDR) kinases. However, little is known about Fry function in vertebrate development. Xenopus gastrulation has been widely used as a model of cell polarization and morphogenesis. Loss of Fry function in Xenopus results in shortened axis and reduction of head structures, reminiscent of defective gastrulation cell movements. Embryos depleted of Fry with a morpholino show delays in blastopore closure (BC) and reduced persistence of migration of gastrulating cells. Convergent extension (CE) of the dorsal mesoderm extends the body axis and aid BC. When evaluating this morphogenetic behavior we observed that fry-depleted dorsal explants do not extend, demonstrating Fry is required for CE. Given changes in cell morphology are needed for CE, we measure cellular polarization and found that lack of Fry results in less elongated dorsal mesoderm cells. Finally, by rescuing the Fry gastrulation phenotype with a constitutive active form of NDR we demonstrate a conserved role of Fry-NDR in cellular polarization and morphogenesis.