Lin-8, which antagonizes Caenorhabditis elegans Ras-mediated vulval induction, encodes a novel nuclear protein that interacts with the LIN-35 Rb protein.

ABSTRACT: Ras-mediated vulval development in C. elegans is inhibited by the functionally redundant sets of class A, B, and C synthetic Multivulva (synMuv) genes. Three of the class B synMuv genes encode an Rb/DP/E2F complex that, by analogy with its mammalian and Drosophila counterparts, has been proposed to silence genes required for vulval specification through chromatin modification and remodeling. Two class A synMuv genes, lin-15A and lin-56, encode novel nuclear proteins that appear to function as a complex. We show that a third class A synMuv gene, lin-8, is the defining member of a novel C. elegans gene family. The LIN-8 protein is nuclear and can interact physically with the product of the class B synMuv gene lin-35, the C. elegans homolog of mammalian Rb. LIN-8 likely acts with the synMuv A

SUBMITTER: Davison EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1456809 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature