Body-wall muscle formation in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos that lack the MyoD homolog hlh-1.
The myoD family of DNA binding proteins has been implicated in the control of myogenesis in a variety of organisms. Searches for homologs in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans yielded only one gene, designated hlh-1, expressed in body-wall muscle cells and their precursors. To assess the role of hlh-1 in C. elegans myogenesis, genetic deficiencies spanning the hlh-1 locus were isolated after gamma irradiation. Embryos homozygous for these deficiencies exhibited extensive body-wall muscle differentiation, including expression of several characteristic myofilament proteins and weak contracile behavior. Thus, zygotic hlh-1 expression was not required for body-wall muscle precursors to adopt muscle cell fates.
Chen
L
L
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Baltimore, MD 21210.
Krause
M
M
Draper
B
B
Weintraub
H
H
Fire
A
A
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006720:Homozygote; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009132:Muscles / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D017570:MyoD Protein; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D017570:MyoD Protein; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D004247:DNA