Immuno-electron microscopy localizes Caenorhabditis elegans vitellogenins along the classic exocytosis route

Abstract

Vitellogenins (VITs) are the most abundant proteins in adult hermaphrodite Caenorhabditis elegans. VITs are synthesized in the intestine, secreted to the pseudocoelom, matured into yolk proteins, and finally deposited in oocytes as nutrients for progeny developme nt. How VITs are secreted out of the intestine remains unclear. Using immuno-electron microscopy (immuno-EM), we localize intestinal VITs along an exocytic pathway consisting of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the Golgi, and the lipid bilayer-bounded VIT vesicles (VVs). This suggests that the classic exocytotic pathway mediates the secretion of VITs from the intestine to the pseudocoelom. We also show that pseudocoelomic yolk patches (PYPs) are membrane-less and amorphous. The different VITs/yolk proteins are packed as a mixture into the above structures. The size of VVs can vary with the VIT levels and the age of the worm. On adult day 2 (AD 2), intestinal VVs (~200 nm in diameter) are smaller than gonadal yolk organelles (YOs, ~500 nm in diameter). VVs, PYPs, and YOs share a uniform medium electron density by conventional EM. The morphological profiles documented in this study serve as a reference for future studies of VITs/yolk proteins.