SPELL - Nematode

Citation	Zhu H, Li M, Zhao R, Li M, Chai Y, Zhu Z, Yang Y, Li W, Xie Z, Li X, Lei K, Li X, Ou G. The SPLiT-seq of late L3 larvae wild-type worms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2022.
PubMed ID	35666862
Short Description	The SPLiT-seq of late L3 larvae wild-type worms. GEO Record: GSE167859, Platform: GPL25147 Lab Atlas: N.A. Other resources: N.A.
# of Conditions	1
Full Description	Microvilli are actin bundle-supported membrane protrusions essential for absorption, secretion, and sensation. Microvilli defects cause human diseases, including gastrointestinal disorders and inherited deafness; however, mechanisms controlling microvilli formation and organization remain unclear. Here, we study microvilli by vitrifying the C. elegans larvae and mouse intestinal tissues with high-pressure freezing, thinning them by cryo-focused ion beam milling, cryo-electron tomography, and sub-tomogram averaging. We show that hundreds of previously unrecognized stick-like structures, which we refer to as nanovilli, decorate the lateral surface of C. elegans and mouse microvilli. The C. elegans 37.5-nm long and 4.5-nm wide nanovilli are composed of the protocadherin family protein CDH-8. Loss of nanovilli slows down animal growth and increases the number of Y-shaped microvilli, intermediate structures when a microvillus splits from its tip and separates into two. Our results indicate that nanovilli space microvilli and suggest a microvilli division model through which microvilli assemble with striking uniformity.
Tags	Method: Single-Cell RNA-Seq, Species: Caenorhabditis elegans, Topic: gene expression - general