The ion channel Anoctamin 10/TMEM16K coordinates organ morphogenesis across scales in the urochordate notochord

by Zonglai Liang, Daniel Christiaan Dondorp, Marios Chatzigeorgiou

During embryonic development, tissues and organs are gradually shaped into their functional morphologies through a series of spatiotemporally tightly orchestrated cell behaviors. A highly conserved organ shape across metazoans is the epithelial tube. Tube morphogenesis is a complex multistep process of carefully choreographed cell behaviors such as convergent extension, cell elongation, and lumen formation. The identity of the signaling molecules that coordinate these intricate morphogenetic steps remains elusive. The notochord is an essential tubular organ present in the embryonic midline region of all members of the chordate phylum. Here, using genome editing, pharmacology and quantitative imaging in the early chordate Ciona intestinalis we show that Ano10/Tmem16k, a member of the evolutionarily ancient family of transmembrane proteins called Anoctamin/TMEM16 is essential for convergent extension, lumen expansion, and connection during notochord morphogenesis. We find that Ano10/Tmem16k works in concert with the plasma membrane (PM) localized Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCX) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) residing SERCA, RyR, and IP3R proteins to establish developmental stage specific Ca²⁺ signaling molecular modules that regulate notochord morphogenesis and Ca²⁺ dynamics. In addition, we find that the highly conserved Ca²⁺ sensors calmodulin (CaM) and Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) show an Ano10/Tmem16k-dependent subcellular localization. Their pharmacological inhibition leads to convergent extension, tubulogenesis defects, and deranged Ca²⁺ dynamics, suggesting that Ano10/Tmem16k is involved in both the “encoding” and “decoding” of developmental Ca²⁺ signals. Furthermore, Ano10/Tmem16k mediates cytoskeletal reorganization during notochord morphogenesis, likely by altering the localization of 2 important cytoskeletal regulators, the small GTPase Ras homolog family member A (RhoA) and the actin binding protein Cofilin. Finally, we use electrophysiological recordings and a scramblase assay in tissue culture to demonstrate that Ano10/Tmem16k likely acts as an ion channel but not as a phospholipid scramblase. Our results establish Ano10/Tmem16k as a novel player in the prevertebrate molecular toolkit that controls organ morphogenesis across scales.