The Caenorhabditis Elegans Unc-31 Gene Affects Multiple Nervous System-Controlled Functions

AUTOR(ES)

Avery, L.

RESUMO

We have devised a method for selecting Caenorhabditis elegans mutants that execute feeding motions in the absence of food. One mutation isolated in this way is an allele of the gene unc-31, first discovered by S. Brenner in 1974, because of its effects on locomotion. We find that strong unc-31 mutations cause defects in four functions controlled by the nervous system. Mutant worms are lethargic, feed constitutively, are defective in egg-laying and produce dauer larvae that fail to recover. We discuss two extreme models to explain this pleiotropy: either unc-31 affects one or a few neurons that coordinately control several different functions, or it affects many neurons that independently control different functions.

Documentos Relacionados

• Expression of Multiple UNC-13 Proteins in the Caenorhabditis elegans Nervous System
• Identification and Cloning of Unc-119, a Gene Expressed in the Caenorhabditis Elegans Nervous System
• Suppressors of the Unc-73 Gene of Caenorhabditis Elegans
• Analysis of the Caenorhabditis Elegans Axonal Guidance and Outgrowth Gene Unc-33
• Genetic Organization in CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS: Fine-Structure Analysis of the unc-22 Gene