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- Chen, Nansheng, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of ciliary and ciliopathy genes in Caenorhabditis elegans through comparative genomics
- 2006
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Ingår i: Genome Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 7:12, s. R126-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The recent availability of genome sequences of multiple related Caenorhabditis species has made it possible to identify, using comparative genomics, similarly transcribed genes in Caenorhabditis elegans and its sister species. Taking this approach, we have identified numerous novel ciliary genes in C. elegans, some of which may be orthologs of unidentified human ciliopathy genes. Results: By screening for genes possessing canonical X-box sequences in promoters of three Caenorhabditis species, namely C. elegans, C. briggsae and C. remanei, we identified 93 genes ( including known X-box regulated genes) that encode putative components of ciliated neurons in C. elegans and are subject to the same regulatory control. For many of these genes, restricted anatomical expression in ciliated cells was confirmed, and control of transcription by the ciliogenic DAF-19 RFX transcription factor was demonstrated by comparative transcriptional profiling of different tissue types and of daf-19(+) and daf-19(-) animals. Finally, we demonstrate that the dye-filling defect of dyf-5( mn400) animals, which is indicative of compromised exposure of cilia to the environment, is caused by a nonsense mutation in the serine/threonine protein kinase gene M04C9.5. Conclusion: Our comparative genomics-based predictions may be useful for identifying genes involved in human ciliopathies, including Bardet-Biedl Syndrome ( BBS), since the C. elegans orthologs of known human BBS genes contain X-box motifs and are required for normal dye filling in C. elegans ciliated neurons.
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| 2. |
- Efimenko, Evgeni, et al.
(författare)
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Caenorhabditis elegans DYF-2, an orthologue of human WDR19, is a component of the intraflagellar transport machinery in sensory Cilia
- 2006
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Ingår i: Molecular Biology of the Cell. - 1059-1524 .- 1939-4586. ; 17:11, s. 4801-4811
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The intraflagellar transport (IFT) machinery required to build functional cilia consists of a multisubunit complex whose molecular composition, organization, and function are poorly understood. Here, we describe a novel tryptophan-aspartic acid (WD) repeat (WDR) containing IFT protein from Caenorhabditis elegans, DYF-2, that plays a critical role in maintaining the structural and functional integrity of the IFT machinery. We determined the identity of the dyf-2 gene by transgenic rescue of mutant phenotypes and by sequencing of mutant alleles. Loss of DYF-2 function selectively affects the assembly and motility of different IFT components and leads to defects in cilia structure and chemosensation in the nematode. Based on these observations, and the analysis of DYF-2 movement in a Bardet-Biedl syndrome mutant with partially disrupted IFT particles, we conclude that DYF-2 can associate with IFT particle complex B. At the same time, mutations in dyf-2 can interfere with the function of complex A components, suggesting an important role of this protein in the assembly of the IFT particle as a whole. Importantly, the mouse orthologue of DYF-2, WDR19, also localizes to cilia, pointing to an important evolutionarily conserved role for this WDR protein in cilia development and function.
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