The minus-end actin capping protein, UNC-94/tropomodulin, regulates development of the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Tropomodulins are actin-capping proteins that regulate the stability of the slow-growing, minus-ends of actin filaments. The C. elegans tropomodulin homolog, UNC-94, has sequence and functional similarity to vertebrate tropomodulins. We investigated the role of UNC-94 in C. elegans intestinal morphogenesis.

Results

In the embryonic C. elegans intestine, UNC-94 localizes to the terminal web, an actin- and intermediate filament-rich structure that underlies the apical membrane. Loss of UNC-94 function results in areas of flattened intestinal lumen. In worms homozygous for the strong loss-of-function allele, unc-94(tm724), the terminal web is thinner and the amount of F-actin is reduced, pointing to a role for UNC-94 in regulating the structure of the terminal web. T

SUBMITTER: Cox-Paulson E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4166613 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature