title: The mec-4 gene is a member of a family of Caenorhabditis elegans genes that can mutate to induce neuronal degeneration.
abstract: Three dominant mutations of mec-4, a gene needed for mechanosensation, cause the touch-receptor neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans to degenerate. With deg-1, another C. elegans gene that can mutate to induce neuronal degeneration and that is similar in sequence, mec-4 defines a new gene family. Cross-hybridizing sequences are detectable in other species, raising the possibility that degenerative conditions in other organisms may be caused by mutations in similar genes. All three dominant mec-4 mutations affect the same amino acid. Effects of amino-acid substitutions at this position suggest that steric hindrance may induce the degenerative state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chalfie
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005796:Genes; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology