nu444 is a novel allele of pkc-1 in C. elegans

Abstract

Here, we report nu444 as a novel allele of the gene pkc-1 that encodes the protein kinase C-1 in C. elegans. The nu444 allele was originally isolated from a forward genetic screen for mutants that suppressed the "Hic" (Hypersensitivity to Inhibitors of Cholinesterase) phenotype of dgk-1(nu62) mutants, which had increased acetylcholine release at the neuromuscular junction (Sieburth et al., 2007). In this screen, several genes that are important for neuropeptide secretion were recovered, including pkc-1(nu448) (Sieburth et al., 2007) and ric-7(nu447) (Hao et al., 2012). Sanger sequencing of the exons and exon-intron junctions of the pkc-1 locus revealed that nu444 had a nonsense mutation (C to T, in the coding strand of pkc-1, with left flanking sequence: 5'-GGATGAATATCATATAGGAAAGACG-3' and right flanking sequence: 5'- AAGTTCGGCCCAAGACTAATGAACC-3') in an early exon that is only present in pkc1a and pkc-1c isoforms (Fig.1). Thus, pkc-1(nu444) allele is probably a null allele for both pkc-1a (Q53stop) and pkc-1c (Q109stop), but presumably does not affect pkc-1b.

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