Cuticle Collagen Expression Is Regulated in Response to Environmental Stimuli by the GATA Transcription Factor ELT-3 in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is protected from the environment by the cuticle, an extracellular collagen-based matrix that encloses the animal. Over 170 cuticular collagens are predicted in the C. elegans genome, but the role of each individual collagen is unclear. Stage-specific specialization of the cuticle explains the need for some collagens; however, the large number of collagens suggests that specialization of the cuticle may also occur in response to other environmental triggers. Missense mutations in many collagen genes can disrupt cuticle morphology, producing a helically twisted body causing the animal to move in a stereotypical pattern described as rolling. We find that environmental factors, including diet, early developmental arrest, and population

SUBMITTER: Mesbahi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7268988 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature