Linked Life Data

16806150

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/16806150

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2006-9-4
pubmed:abstractText
To gain an understanding of the genes and mechanisms that govern morphogenesis and its evolution, we have analyzed mutations that disrupt this process in a simple model structure, the male tail tip of the rhabditid nematode C. elegans. During the evolution of rhabditid male tails, there have been several independent changes from tails with rounded tips ("peloderan", as in C. elegans) to those with pointed tips ("leptoderan"). Mutations which produce leptoderan (Lep) tails in C. elegans thus identify candidate genes and pathways in which evolutionary changes could have produced leptoderan tails from peloderan ancestors. Here we report that two novel, gain-of-function (gf) alleles of lin-41 have lesions predicted to affect the N-terminus of the RBCC-domain LIN-41 protein. Both gf alleles cause the tail tip of adult males to retain the pointed shape of the juvenile tails, producing a Lep phenotype that looks like the tails of leptoderan species. Consistent with its role in the heterochronic pathway, we find that lin-41 governs the timing and extent of male tail tip morphogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. Specifically, the Lep phenotype results from a heterochronic delay in the retraction and fusion of the tail tip cells during L4 morphogenesis, such that retraction is not completed before the adult molt. Conversely, we find that tail tip morphogenesis and cell fusions begin precociously at the L3 stage in the reduced-function lin-41 mutant, ma104, resulting in over-retracted male tails in the adult. Because modulated anti-LIN-41 RNAi knockdowns in the gf mutants restore wild-type phenotype, we suggest that the leptoderan phenotype of the gf alleles is due to a higher activity of otherwise normal LIN-41. Additionally, the gf allele is suppressed by the wild-type allele, suggesting that LIN-41 normally regulates itself, possibly by autoubiquitination. We speculate that small changes affecting LIN-41 could have been significant for male tail evolution.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0012-1606
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
1
pubmed:volume
297
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
74-86
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2006
pubmed:articleTitle
Novel gain-of-function alleles demonstrate a role for the heterochronic gene lin-41 in C. elegans male tail tip morphogenesis.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York, NY 10003, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural