Excretory gland cell and NSPC genes in C. elegans: investigating their physiological roles.

ABSTRACT: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the best-studied model organisms in molecular biology; however, many aspects of its physiology and the functions of many genes remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of Nematode-Specific Peptide Family, group C (NSPC) proteins, whose mRNAs were recently identified as primary targets of the poly(A) polymerase TENT-5. Surprisingly, we found that NSPCs are exclusively expressed in the excretory gland cell, a cell with still unclear functionality. Using an optogenetic approach, we precisely ablated the excretory gland cell and observed that, apart from a strong downregulation of NSPCs, nematodes exhibited no transcriptomic or physiological changes in its absence. Additionally, we generated and thoroughly studied a strain

SUBMITTER: Mackiewicz Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12406010 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature