- 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 M Tanaka-Hino et al. (1999) International C. elegans Meeting "A C. elegans SEK-1 MAP kinase kinase regulates egg-laying and male turning behaviors." (0)
Overview
M Tanaka-Hino, M Kawasaki, K Nishiwaki, N Hisamoto, & K Matsumoto (1999). A C. elegans SEK-1 MAP kinase kinase regulates egg-laying and male turning behaviors presented in International C. elegans Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.
JNK and p38 belong to a subgroup of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily and are activated in response to a variety of stresses in mammalian cells. SEK1/MKK4 activates both JNK and p38 MAPKs as a MAPK kinase. We have identified C. elegans SEK1 homolog, SEK-1. In hermaphrodites, sek-1::gfp was expressed in many cells including excretory/secretory cells, all VCn motorneurons, all touch receptor neurons, and vulval epithelial cells. In males, sek-1::gfp was expressed in ventral nerve cord neurons, probably CPn motorneurons, which have the lineages same as VCn in hermaphrodites. To understand the role of sek-1 ,we generated a sek-1 disruption allele. The sek-1 null mutant hermaphrodites were defective in egg-laying (Egl-d) and formed bag-of-worms. Other behaviors including pharyngeal pumping and defecation were normal in sek-1 mutant animals. Trimeric G protein a subunits GOA-1 and EGL-30 are involved in regulation of egg-laying. Since goa-1 mutant and egl-30 overexpression animals show egg-laying constitutive (Egl-c) phenotype, we analyzed the genetic interaction of sek-1 with goa-1 and egl-30 . The goa-1;sek-1 double mutant showed both Egl-d and Egl-c phenotypes, suggesting that goa-1 and sek-1 regulate egg-laying independently. Egl-30 overexpression in the sek-1 mutant exhibited the Egl-c phenotype, suggesting that SEK-1 functions upstream of EGL-30. We next analyzed the male phenotype in sek-1 mutant males. The sek-1 mutant males were morphologically normal but showed a defect in turning behavior. These results suggest that the MAPK cascade mediated by SEK-1 regulates egg-laying and male turning behaviors via VCn and CPn neurons, respectively.