Genetics: Early Online, published on November 8, 2018 as 10.1534/genetics.118.301752 Epithelial shaping by diverse apical extracellular matrices requires the nidogen domain protein DEX-1 in C. elegans Jennifer D. Cohen*, Kristen M. Flatt†, Nathan E. Schroeder†‡, Meera V. Sundaram*§ *Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 †Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801-4730 ‡Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801-4730 1 Copyright 2018. Running title: DEX-1 and ZP matrices in C. elegans keywords C. elegans; extracellular matrix; zona pellucida; cuticle; excretory system §Corresponding author: Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 446a Clinical Research Bldg., 415 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104-6145. E-mail:
[email protected] 2 ABSTRACT The body’s external surfaces and the insides of biological tubes, like the vascular system, are lined by a lipid, glycoprotein-, and glycosaminoglycan- rich apical extracellular matrix (aECM). aECMs are the body’s first line of defense against infectious agents and promote tissue integrity and morphogenesis, but are poorly described relative to basement membranes and stromal ECMs. While some aECM components, such as zona pellucida domain (ZP) proteins, have been identified, little is known regarding the overall composition of the aECM or the mechanisms by which different aECM components work together to shape epithelial tissues. In Caenorhabditis elegans, external epithelia develop in the context of an ill-defined ZP-containing aECM that precedes secretion of the collagenous cuticle. C. elegans has 43 genes that encode at least 65 unique ZP proteins, and we show that some of these comprise distinct pre-cuticle aECMs in the embryo.