CGEF-1 and CHIN-1 regulate CDC-42 activity during asymmetric division in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo.

ABSTRACT: The anterior-posterior axis of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is elaborated at the one-cell stage by the polarization of the partitioning (PAR) proteins at the cell cortex. Polarization is established under the control of the Rho GTPase RHO-1 and is maintained by the Rho GTPase CDC-42. To understand more clearly the role of the Rho family GTPases in polarization and division of the early embryo, we constructed a fluorescent biosensor to determine the localization of CDC-42 activity in the living embryo. A genetic screen using this biosensor identified one positive (putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor [GEF]) and one negative (putative GTPase activating protein [GAP]) regulator of CDC-42 activity: CGEF-1 and CHIN-1. CGEF-1 was required for robust activation, whereas CHIN-1 restric

SUBMITTER: Kumfer KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2808230 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature