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Resources » Paper

Okkema PG et al. (1997) Development "The Caenorhabditis elegans NK-2 homeobox gene ceh-22 activates pharyngeal muscle gene expression in combination with pha-1 and is required for normal pharyngeal development."

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  • Comments on Okkema PG et al. (1997) Development "The Caenorhabditis elegans NK-2 homeobox gene ceh-22 activates pharyngeal muscle gene expression in combination with pha-1 and is required for normal pharyngeal development." (0)

  • Overview

    PMID:
    9374394
    DOI:
    10.1242/dev.124.20.3965
    Status:
    Publication type:
    Journal_article
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00002925

    Okkema PG, Ha E, Haun C, Chen W, & Fire A (1997). The Caenorhabditis elegans NK-2 homeobox gene ceh-22 activates pharyngeal muscle gene expression in combination with pha-1 and is required for normal pharyngeal development. Development, 124, 3965-73. doi:10.1242/dev.124.20.3965

    Pharyngeal muscle development in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans appears to share similarities with cardiac muscle development in other species. We have previously described CEH-22, an NK-2 class homeodomain transcription factor similar to Drosophila tinman and vertebrate Nkx2-5, which is expressed exclusively in the pharyngeal muscles. In vitro, CEH-22 binds the enhancer from myo-2, a pharyngeal muscle-specific myosin heavy chain gene. In this paper, we examine the role CEH-22 plays in pharyngeal muscle development and gene activation by (a) ectopically expressing ceh-22 in transgenic C. elegans and (b) examining the phenotype of a ceh-22 loss-of-function mutant. These experiments indicate that CEH-22 is an activator of myo-2 expression and that it is required for normal pharyngeal muscle development. However, ceh-22 is necessary for neither formation of the pharyngeal muscles, nor for myo-2 expression. Our data suggest parallel and potentially compensating pathways contribute to pharyngeal muscle differentiation. We also examine the relationship between ceh-22 and the pharyngeal organ-specific differentiation gene pha-1. Mutations in ceh-22 and pha-1 have strongly synergistic effects on pharyngeal muscle gene expression; in addition, a pha-1 mutation enhances the lethal phenotype caused by a mutation in ceh-22. Wild-type pha-1 is not required for the onset of ceh-22 expression but it appears necessary for maintained expression of ceh-22.


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