Dynamically-expressed prion-like proteins form a cuticle in the pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: In molting animals, a cuticular extracellular matrix forms the first barrier to infection and other environmental insults. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans there are two types of cuticle: a well-studied collagenous cuticle lines the body, and a poorly-understood chitinous cuticle lines the pharynx. In the posterior end of the pharynx is the grinder, a tooth-like cuticular specialization that crushes food prior to transport to the intestine for digestion. We here show that the grinder increases in size only during the molt. To gain molecular insight into the structure of the grinder and pharyngeal cuticle, we performed a microarray analysis to identify mRNAs increased during the molt. We found strong transcriptional induction during the molt of 12 of 15 previously identified abu genes

SUBMITTER: George-Raizen JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4232772 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature