Plenefisch JD et al. (1987) Worm Breeder's Gazette "the lethal phenotype and temperature sensitivity of dpy-27 and dpy-28."

Meyer BJ, Plenefisch JD

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1987]

Mutations in dpy-27 and dpy-28 affect the viability of XX but not XO animals. In addition, these mutations disrupt dosage compensation resulting in XX but not XO animals over-expressing their X-linked genes (as assayed by Northern analysis [Meyer and Casson, Cell 47:871 1986] and by morphogenetic assay [DeLong, et al. Genetics, in press]).

Miller DM et al. (1992) Worm Breeder's Gazette "unc-4 LacZ Expression in A-Type Motor Neurons"

Miller DM, Niemeyer CJ

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1992]

unc-4 LacZ expression in A-type motor neurons David M. Miller and Charles J. Niemeyer, Dept. of Cell Biology, Duke Univ. Medical Ctr, Durham, NC 27710

Sommer RJ et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Evolution of Vulva-Formation: Part II: Species With a Central Vulva"

Sommer RJ, Sternberg PW

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

Evolution of vulva-formation: Part II: Species with a central vulva Ralf J. Sommer & Paul W. Sternberg, California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology 156-29, Pasadena, CA 91125

Huang Y-J et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "From Ascaris to C. elegans: A Way to Study Gene Structure and Function"

Tobler H, Huang Y-J, Mueller F

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

FROM ASCARIS TO C. ELEGANS: A WAY TO STUDY GENE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION Huang Y-J., Tobler H. and Muller F., Institute of Zoology, University of Pribourg, Perolles, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland

Li WQ et al. (1992) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Characterization of the Axonal Guidance and Outgrowth gene Unc-33"

Shaw JE, Li WQ, Herman RK

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1992]

Characterization of the axonal guidance and outgrowth gene unc-33 W. Li, R. K. Herman and J. E. Shaw Department of Genetics and Cell biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108

Almeida CA et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Function of a Domain of the Myosin Heavy Chain Implicated in Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy"

Collins JJ, Almeida CA, Swift KE

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

Function of a Domain of the Myosin Heavy Chain Implicated in Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Craig A. Almeida, Kerry E. Swift and John J. Collins Department of Biochemistry and Molecular, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03820

Richards JP et al. (1991) Worm Breeder's Gazette "The Cloning of a Putative C. elegans Cyclin B Gene Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction."

Bennett KL, Richards JP, Temenak JJ

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1991]

Cyclin proteins are intimately involved in cell cycle regulation. Two types of cyclin proteins have been identified, cyclin A and cyclin B. The cyclin A protein has been shown to be critical to embryonic development in Drosophila; homozygous mutant embryos lacking cyclin A die when zygotic transcription fails to provide cyclin A. The presence of cyclin B protein cannot rescue these mutants (C.F. Lehner and P.H. O'Farrell, Cell 1990. 61:535-547). No mutants in cyclin B have been reported in Drosophila. Cyclin B protein has been shown to be involved in meiotic maturation in clams (Westendorf et al., J. Cell Biol. 1989. 108:1431-1444). Perhaps surprisingly, in Drosophila the mRNA for cyclin B localizes by in situ hybridization to the Drosophila pole cells, the fly equivalents of the nematode P germline cell lineage (Whitfield et al., Nature 1989. 338:337340). The Bennett laboratory is interested in the nematode germline lineage and in identifying the components of the germline P granules ( Strome and Wood, Cell 1983. 35:15-25 and K. Bennett, WBG 9:1 55). We plan to determine if nematode cyclin B RNA is similarly localized to the nematode germline precursor cells, and would like to address what possible role the sequestration of cyclin B RNA plays in the determination of the germline. Using primers to conserved cyclin B regions, we have isolated, cloned and sequenced a PCR product from genomic Caenorhabditis DNA which is a putative cyclin B. As illustrated below, this fragment has 72% exact match at the amino acid level to the corresponding region of the clam or sea urchin cyclin B genes; this is exactly the same match ( 41/57 aa) that sea urchin and clam show to each other in this region. Southern blot analysis using this fragment as a probe with C. elegans DNA indicates a single copy gene. The PCR fragment recognizes a single 1.4 kb message on Northern analysis using polyA+ RNA from mixed stage worms; this size is large enough to accommodate the coding region of the cyclin B protein. We have recently screened R. Barstead's lambda ZAP mixed stage cDNA library. Thirty putative cyclin B cDNAs were detected on duplicate lifts when 120,000 phage were screened. [See Figure 1]

Mongan NP et al. (1996) Worm Breeder's Gazette "An extensive nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) gene family in Caenorhabditis elegans"

Mongan NP, Sattelle DB, Baylis HA

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1996]

Although nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are one of the best characterized membrane proteins, aspects of our understanding of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated fast synaptic signalling in neurons and on muscle remain superficial. For example, in no organism studied to date is the full complement of nAChR subunits known. The nematode C. elegans is one of the simplest organisms to employ ACh as a neurotransmitter and a number of genes for nAChR subunits have now been identified1,2,3. Putative subunit genes have been identified by: (a) cloning genes responsible for phenotypes such as resistance to the anthelmintic drug levamisole (lev-1, unc-38, unc-29)1,2 and neuronal degradation (deg-3)3; (b) screening libraries with probes from other organisms (acr-2, acr-3)4; (c) identifying putative receptor subunits in sequences from the C. elegans genome sequencing project (e.g. T09A5.3). Sequence alignments reveal notable differences at the putative ACh binding site, and have identified putative subunits (e.g.KO3F8.2, DEG-3) which exhibit extreme divergence from previously characterised nAChRs. Viable mutants of nAChR subunit genes are available in C. elegans. The use of comparative RT-PCR offers a powerful, simple means of exploring the diversity of nAChR subunits expressed in C.elegans. This method may make it possible to assign specific subunits to behavioural traits, by correlating the absence of subunit expression in defined mutant phenotypes. nAChR alpha subunits may be distinguished from other ligand-gated ion channel subunits by the presence of a vicinal cysteine motif at positions equivalant to 192,193 (numbering based on Torpedo alpha subunit). RT-PCR has been used to demonstrate the expression of the largest family of expressed nAChR alpha subunits currently known for any organism. Evidence is presented for the existence of an nAChR alpha subunit sub-family in C. elegans whose members have a YxxCC motif, (rather than the more common YxCC motif) at the ACh binding site. Such sequence variations might be expected to influence the pharmacology of nematode receptors, and may account for the insensitivity of certain Ascaris suum and C. elegans nAChRs to the coral toxin, lophotoxin (or its analogues)5. We have begun to study the in vivo expression of these receptors using the green fluorescent protein reporter gene, and are investigating the physiology of an alpha subunit (T09A5.3) which shows a high degree of similarity to the homo-oligomer forming chick alpha7 subunit. 1. Lewis J A et al. (1987) Mol. Pharmacol. 31, 185-193 2. Fleming J T, Torne C, Riina H A, Coadwell J, Lewis J A and Sattelle D B (1993) In Comparative Molecular Neurobiology (ed Pichon Y) 65-80, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 3. Treinin M and Chalfie M (1994) Neuron 14;871-877 4. Squire M D, Torne C, Baylis H A, Fleming J T, Barnard E A and Sattelle D B (1995) Receptors and Ion Channels 3, 107-115. 5. Torne C, Holden-Dye L, Bai D, Abramson S N and Sattelle D B (1994) J. Physiol. (Lond.) 480, 96

Sommer RJ et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Evolution of Vulva Formation: Part IV: Variation in AC Position Can Cause a Shift of Vulva Formation Towards P(4-6).p."

Sternberg PW, Sommer RJ

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

Evolution of vulva formation: Part IV: Variation in AC position can cause a shift of vulva formation towards p(4- 6).p Ralf J. Sommer & Paul W. Sternberg, HHMI & California Institute of Technology, Division of Biology 156-29, Pasadena, CA

Bowerman BA et al. (1994) Worm Breeder's Gazette "The Maternal Gene skn-4 and the Specification of Ventral Blastomere Fates in the Early C. elegans Embryo"

Bowerman BA, Shelton CA, Thorpe CJ, Martin PR

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1994]

THE MATERNAL GENE SKN-4 AND THE SPECIFICATION OF VENTRAL BLASTOMERE FATES IN THE EARLY C. ELEGANS EMBRYO Bruce Bowerman, Paula R. Martin, Christopher J. Thorpe, and Christopher A. Shelton. The Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.