Multiple functions of let-23, a Caenorhabditis elegans receptor tyrosine kinase gene required for vulval induction
- Creators
- Aroian, Raffi V.
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Sternberg, Paul W.
Abstract
The let-23 gene, which encodes a putative tyrosine kinase of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor subfamily, has multiple functions during Caenorhabditis elegans development. We show that let-23 function is required for vulval precursor cells (VPCs) to respond to the signal that induces vulval differentiation: a complete loss of let-23 function results in no induction. However, some let-23 mutations that genetically reduce but do not eliminate let-23 function result in VPCs apparently hypersensitive to inductive signal: as many as five of six VPCs can adopt vulval fates, in contrast to the three that normally do. These results suggest that the let-23 receptor tyrosine kinase controls two opposing pathways, one that stimulates vulval differentiation and another that negatively regulates vulval differentiation. Furthermore, analysis of 16 new let-23 mutations indicates that the let-23 kinase functions in at least five tissues. Since various let-23 mutant phenotypes can be obtained independently, the let-23 gene is likely to have tissue-specific functions.
Additional Information
© 1991 by the Genetics Society of America. Manuscript received December 5, 1990; Accepted for publication February 14, 1991. We are grateful for the encouragement of Bob Horvitz in whose laboratory P.W.S. made the initial observations of the n1045 phenotypes. We thank Helen Chamberlin, Gregg Jongeward and Min Han for unpublished observations and Chip Ferguson, Will Boorstein, Nancy Bonini, Howard Lipshitz, Barbara Wold, Min Han, Andy Golden, Russell Hill, Susan Parkhurst, Tom Wilkie, Wendy Katz, Paul Kayne, Nagesh Mahanthappa, and other members of our laboratory for helpful comments and critical reading of this manuscript. Some nematode strains used in this work were provided by the Caenorhabditis Genetic Center, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). We also thank Helen Chamberlin for strains and Andrea Holboke and Yvonne Hajdu for maintenance of our C. elegans strain collection. R.V.A. is a U.S. Public Health Service trainee. P.W.S. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This research has been supported by a grant to P.W.S. from the U.S. Public Health Service (HD23690).Attached Files
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Additional details
- PMCID
- PMC1204464
- Eprint ID
- 95493
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20190514-121726625
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
- NIH
- HD23690
- Created
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2019-05-14Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2019-10-03Created from EPrint's last_modified field