Opposing activities of LIT-1/NLK and DAF-6/patched-related direct sensory compartment morphogenesis in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Glial cells surround neuronal endings to create enclosed compartments required for neuronal function. This architecture is seen at excitatory synapses and at sensory neuron receptive endings. Despite the prevalence and importance of these compartments, how they form is not known. We used the main sensory organ of C. elegans, the amphid, to investigate this issue. daf-6/Patched-related is a glia-expressed gene previously implicated in amphid sensory compartment morphogenesis. By comparing time series of electron-microscopy (EM) reconstructions of wild-type and daf-6 mutant embryos, we show that daf-6 acts to restrict compartment size. From a genetic screen, we found that mutations in the gene lit-1/Nemo-like kinase (NLK) suppress daf-6. EM and genetic studies demonstrate that lit-1 acts wit

SUBMITTER: Oikonomou G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3153439 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature