title: C. elegans osm-3 gene mediating osmotic avoidance behaviour encodes a kinesin-like protein.
abstract: In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, mutants in osm-3 gene are known to be defective in osmotic avoidance, chemotaxis and dauer formation behaviours. To study the molecular basis of these pleiotropic defects we have cloned the osm-3 gene by germline transformation of osm-3 (p802) mutants through microinjection of the wild type genomic DNA. Northern analysis reveals a 3.0 kb transcript corresponding to osm-3. DNA sequencing of the transforming 4.3 kb fragment revealed a kinesin heavy chain-like protein, which contains conserved ATPase and microtubule binding domains. Our results are consistent with the previous EM data on osm-3 (p802) mutants that show an accumulation of dense matrix material in the amphid sheath cytoplasm and a shortened distal segment of the amphid channel cilium. These data suggest a kinesin-like role of the osm-3 product in axonal transport.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shakir
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukushige
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport / Q000502:physiology; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016547:Kinesins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009995:Osmosis; D010641:Phenotype; D012313:RNA / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000502:physiology; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D012313:RNA; D016547:Kinesins