daf-1, a C. elegans gene controlling dauer larva development, encodes a novel receptor protein kinase.
The dauer larva is a developmentally arrested, non-feeding dispersal stage normally formed in response to overcrowding and limited food. The daf-1 gene specifies an intermediate step in a hierarchy of genes thought to specify a pathway for neural transduction of environmental cues. Mutations in daf-1 result in constitutive formation of dauer larvae even in abundant food. This gene has been cloned by Tc1-transposon tagging, and it appears to encode a new class of serine/threonine kinase. A daf-1 probe detects a 2.5 kb mRNA of low abundance, and the DNA sequence indicates that the gene encodes a 669 amino acid protein, with a putative transmembrane domain and a C-terminal protein kinase domain most closely related to the cytosolic, raf proto-oncogene family. Hence, the daf-1 product appears to be a cell-surface receptor required for transduction of environmental signals into an appropriate developmental response.
Georgi
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LL
Division of Biological Sciences, Tucker Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211.
Albert
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PS
Riddle
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DL
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005796:Genes; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C064359:DAF-1 protein, C elegans; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011494:Protein Kinases