Orthologs of the Caenorhabditis elegans heterochronic genes have divergent functions in Caenorhabditis briggsae.

ABSTRACT: The heterochronic genes of Caenorhabditis elegans comprise the best-studied pathway controlling the timing of tissue and organ formation in an animal. To begin to understand the evolution of this pathway and the significance of the relationships among its components, we characterized 11 Caenorhabditis briggsae orthologs of C. elegans heterochronic genes. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we made a variety of alleles and found that several mutant phenotypes differ in significant ways from those of C. elegans. Although most mutant orthologs displayed defects in developmental timing, their phenotypes could differ in which stages were affected, the penetrance and expressivity of the phenotypes, or by having additional pleiotropies that were not obviously connected to developmental timing. However, when exami

SUBMITTER: Ivanova M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10697817 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature