Isoform-Specific Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans Heterochronic Gene lin-14 Affect Stage-Specific Patterning
| Autor: | Brenda J. Reinhart, Gary Ruvkun |
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| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Gene isoform
Molecular Sequence Data Locus (genetics) Cell fate determination Evolution Molecular Species Specificity Genetics Animals Protein Isoforms Amino Acid Sequence Nuclear protein Caenorhabditis elegans Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins Alleles Conserved Sequence Genes Helminth Body Patterning Regulation of gene expression Sequence Homology Amino Acid biology fungi Gene Expression Regulation Developmental Nuclear Proteins Helminth Proteins biology.organism_classification Caenorhabditis Phenotype Larva Mutation Heterochrony Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Genetics. 157:199-209 |
| ISSN: | 1943-2631 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/genetics/157.1.199 |
| Popis: | The Caenorhabditis elegans heterochronic gene lin-14 specifies the temporal sequence of postembryonic developmental events. lin-14, which encodes differentially spliced LIN-14A and LIN-14B1/B2 protein isoforms, acts at distinct times during the first larval stage to specify first and second larval stage-specific cell lineages. Proposed models for the molecular basis of these two lin-14 gene activities have included the production of functionally distinct isoforms and the generation of a temporal gradient of LIN-14 protein. We report here that loss of the LIN-14B1/B2 isoforms alone affects one of the two lin-14 temporal patterning functions, the specification of second larval stage lineages. A temporal expression difference between LIN-14A and LIN-14B1/B2 is not responsible for the stage-specific phenotype: protein levels of all LIN-14 isoforms are high in early first larval stage animals and decrease during the first larval stage. However, LIN-14A can partially substitute for LIN-14B1/B2 when expressed at a higher-than-normal level in the late L1 stage. These data indicate that LIN-14B1/B2 isoforms do not provide a distinct function of the lin-14 locus in developmental timing but rather may contribute to an overall level of LIN-14 protein that is the critical determinant of temporal cell fate. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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