Temporal control over the initiation of cell motility by a regulator of G-protein signaling

Abstract

The control over the acquisition of cell motility is central for a variety of biological processes in development, homeostasis, and disease. An attractive in vivo model for investigating the regulation of migration initiation is that of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in zebrafish embryos. In this study, we show that, following PGC specification, the cells can polarize but do not migrate before the time chemokine-encoded directional cues are established. We found that the regulator of G-protein signaling 14a protein, whose RNA is a newly identified germ plasm component, regulates the temporal relations between the appearance of the guidance molecules and the acquisition of cellular motility by regulating E-cadherin levels.