The cleaning of fruit fly embryos happens because of an enzyme that removes the maternal proteins within it. Dubbed as the 'Marie Kondo' protein, this enzyme, much like its namesake, removes unnecessary molecules to keep the embryos organized.
The 'Marie Kondo' Protein
Marie Kondo, also known as KonMari, is a Japanese author and clutter consultant helping people worldwide organize their cluttered homes and transform them into serenity and inspiration spaces.
Researchers from the University Of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered that a protein in a fruit fly embryo performs the same duty as Marie Kondo.
Maternal molecules that control much of the earliest steps of embryonic development fill the fertilized egg cells. The stage of destroying these inherited molecules is considered a crucial part of the embryonic development as it begins to make its own, a process called the maternal-to-zygotic transition.
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Proteins and messenger RNAs are included in these molecules that need to be discarded. Scientists already know how they are destroyed. However, the process of discarding maternal proteins remains unknown.
The researchers who published their study in the journal eLife discovered the existence of the 'Marie Kondo' protein by screening approximately 150 possible enzymes through a trick wherein the destruction of maternal proteins could be seen with fluorescent microscopy.
Due to its similar trait with the renowned tidying expert, the researchers decided to name the protein after her, and as a shortened version of the name, the enzyme was called "Kdo."
The 'Marie Kondo' protein belongs to a class of enzymes called the ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (or E2 enzymes).
Biochemistry and molecular genetics assistant professor and study co-author Olivia Rissland of the University of Colorado School of Medicine said that typically, the topic of getting rid of maternal molecules only focuses on mRNA or the coded information for making a protein.
The destruction of protein themselves is not often discussed. One implication that they found in the study is that in the early stages of development, maternal protein destruction might be more strictly controlled than scientists had thought.
Furthermore, Rissland said that their discovery opens the door for more research into embryonic protein destruction. She said that they started their research to look at these maternal proteins that control the RNA.
After doing their research, they are now interested in what other proteins are possibly destroyed and how protein destruction could affect the early development stages of the embryo of fruit flies and other animals.
Maternal Molecules in Embryonic Development
The maternal-to-zygotic transition, or maternal-to-embryonic transition, consists of critical embryonic development. This includes the maternal RNA depletion and the embryonic genome activation.
In recent years, the key maternal proteins have been determined by using genetically modified mouse models, which classified the proteins that are crucial in early embryonic development. It comprises maternal mRNA degradation, protein translation, signal transduction, epigenetic reprogramming, and embryonic genome activation.
Species differ based on the number of cell divisions involved in the maternal-to-embryonic transition and maternal-effect genes that control its development.
