Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
10
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-6-27
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans gene pag-3 result in misexpression of touch receptor-specific genes in the BDU interneurons and in motility defects. We cloned pag-3 and found that the gene encodes a C2H2-type zinc finger protein related to the mammalian GFI-1 protein. Sequencing of the three pag-3 alleles showed that two apparent null alleles encode a nonsense mutation before the zinc fingers and a missense mutation in the fourth zinc finger that changes a coordinating histidine to a tyrosine. The third allele contains a nonsense mutation in the N-terminal region but is not a null allele. Northern analysis showed that a single pag-3 transcript of about 1.6 kb is present in embryos and L1, L2 and L3 larvae. pag-3 message levels were about twofold higher in pag-3 mutants than in wild-type animals, which suggested that pag-3 may negatively regulate its own expression. pag-3lacZ fusion genes were expressed in the BDU interneurons, the touch neurons, 11 VA and 11 VB ventral cord motor neurons, two AVF interneurons and in unidentified neurons of the retrovesicular ganglion. The BDU neurons and the ALM touch neurons are lineal sister cells in the AB.a lineage and the VA and VB motor neurons are lineal sister cells in the AB.p lineage. The VA motor neurons are required for backward movement and the VB motor neurons are required for forward movement. Mosaic analysis showed that the wild-type pag-3 gene is required in the AB.p lineage for coordinated movement and in the AB.a lineage to suppress touch neuron gene expression in the BDU neurons. Because pag-3 is expressed in both the BDU neurons and in the touch neurons, another protein(s) not expressed in the touch neurons may interact with pag-3 to repress touch neuron gene expression in the BDU neurons. Alternatively, another protein in the touch receptor cells may inactivate PAG-3 and allow expression of the touch receptor program. These results show that pag-3 is a temporally regulated gene that is expressed early in development and functions in multiple types of neurons. They also strongly suggest that the PAG3 protein is a DNA-binding protein with properties similar to the mammalian proto-oncogene product GFI-1.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0950-1991
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
124
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2063-73
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Amino Acid Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Base Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Caenorhabditis elegans, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Cloning, Molecular, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-DNA-Binding Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Gene Expression Regulation, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Genes, Helminth, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Interneurons, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Mechanoreceptors, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Molecular Sequence Data, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Mosaicism, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Movement, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Mutation, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Proto-Oncogenes, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-RNA, Helminth, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-RNA, Messenger, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Recombinant Fusion Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Restriction Mapping, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Sequence Analysis, DNA, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Transcription Factors, pubmed-meshheading:9169852-Zinc Fingers
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
The C. elegans gene pag-3 is homologous to the zinc finger proto-oncogene gfi-1.
pubmed:affiliation
Louisiana State University Medical Center-Shreveport, 71130-3932, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't