- page settings
- showhide sidebar
- showhide empty fields
- layout
- (too narrow)
- open all
- close all
- Page Content
- Overview
- External Links
- History
- Referenced
- Tools
- Tree Display
- My WormBase
- My Favorites
- My Library
- Recent Activity
- Comments (0)
history logging is off
Tree Display
My Favorites
My Library
Comments on Cheryl L Van Buskirk et al. (2003) International Worm Meeting "Do the splice variants of lin-3 differ in function?" (0)
Overview
Cheryl L Van Buskirk, & Paul W Sternberg (2003). Do the splice variants of lin-3 differ in function? presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.
The lin-3 gene encodes the only known ligand of the EGF receptor in C. elegans, and is required for viability, ovulation, vulval patterning, and other cell fate specifications. Two splice variants, lin-3A and 3B, which arise from alternate splice donor site usage, have been previously identified. Lin-3B differs from the more abundant lin-3A by the insertion of an extra 15 amino acids just N-terminal to the transmembrane domain. This region is known to be important for proteolytic processing in other EGF-like ligands. We have recently identified an additional variant, lin-3C, that arises from alternate exon usage and results in the insertion of 41 amino acids in this same juxtamembrane region. While lin-3A and lin-3B appear to be expressed at all stages of development, lin-3C is detected only during early larval stages. To determine the significance of alternative splicing within lin-3, we are testing the ability of each isoform to rescue the vulval patterning defects of a weak lin-3 mutant, and we are also examining the effect of heat shock-induced overexpression of each isoform on normal development.