ArticleThe Journal of cell biology2017
WASP and SCAR are evolutionarily conserved in actin-filled pseudopod-based motility.
Article in The Journal of cell biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis indicates that the regulation of cell motility is a non-intrinsic function of chemoattractant receptors that is governed independently of directional sensing.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
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- Molecular and cellular insights into the parasitic infection of bloom-forming marine diatoms by Pirsonia diadema.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- A conserved VPS34-PIKfyve-TRPML1-myosin II axis regulates the speed of amoeboid cell migration.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Overlapping expression characteristics of ubiquitination-related genes in periodontitis and renal cell carcinoma: transcriptomic analysis and experimental validation.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Article
- N-WASP is downregulated in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and is associated with poor prognosis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Polarized SOS activity orchestrates FGF-directed cell migration in vivo.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Chemical and Mechanical Regulation of Leukocyte Migration.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2026Review
- Macrophages bend long fibres with flexural rigidity lower than 3 mN·nmParticle and fibre toxicology · 2026Article
- Single-cell genomics, metagenomics, and transcriptomics ofAquatic ecology · 2026Article
- The photophobic response in the apusomonad Podomonas kaiyoae is mediated by coordination of cilia and actin filaments.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Evolutionary cell biology comes of age.Journal of cell science · 2025Article
- Myosin 2 drives actin contractility in fast-crawling species outside of the amorphean lineage.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Orchestrating movement: the role of Caveolin-1 in migration and metastasis.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Actin filament assembly driven by distributive polymerases clustered on membrane surfaces.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Please inhibit responsibly: Natural and synthetic actin toxins as useful tools in cell biology.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Review
- Did axons evolve by activating cytokinesis during interphase? A hypothesis on the origin of neurons.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Review
- WAVE complex forms linear arrays at negative membrane curvature to instruct lamellipodia formation.The Journal of cell biology · 2025Article
- Reduced cell-substrate adhesion formation promotes cell migration inMolecular biology of the cell · 2025Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Diverse eukaryotic cells crawl through complex environments using distinct modes of migration. To understand the underlying mechanisms and their evolutionary relationships, we must define each mode and identify its phenotypic and molecular markers. In this study, we focus on a widely dispersed migration mode characterized by dynamic actin-filled pseudopods that we call "α-motility." Mining genomic data reveals a clear trend: only organisms with both WASP and SCAR/WAVE-activators of branched actin assembly-make actin-filled pseudopods. Although SCAR has been shown to drive pseudopod formation, WASP's role in this process is controversial. We hypothesize that these genes collectively represent a genetic signature of α-motility because both are used for pseudopod formation. WASP depletion from human neutrophils confirms that both proteins are involved in explosive actin polymerization, pseudopod formation, and cell migration. WASP and WAVE also colocalize to dynamic signaling structures. Moreover, retention of WASP together with SCAR correctly predicts α-motility in disease-causing chytrid fungi, which we show crawl at >30 µm/min with actin-filled pseudopods. By focusing on one migration mode in many eukaryotes, we identify a genetic marker of pseudopod formation, the morphological feature of α-motility, providing evidence for a widely distributed mode of cell crawling with a single evolutionary origin.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.