The mec-8 gene of C. elegans encodes a protein with two RNA recognition motifs and regulates alternative splicing of unc-52 transcripts.
Mutations in the mec-8 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans were previously shown to affect the functions of body wall muscle and mechanosensory and chemosensory neurons. Mutations in mec-8 also strongly enhance the mutant phenotype of specific mutations in unc-52, a gene that encodes, via alternative splicing of pre-mRNA, a set of basement membrane proteins, homologs of perlecan, that are important for body wall muscle assembly and attachment to basement membrane, hypodermis and cuticle. We have cloned mec-8 and found that it encodes a protein with two RNA recognition motifs, characteristic of RNA binding proteins. We have used reverse transcription-PCR and RNase protection experiments to show that mec-8 regulates the accumulation of a specific subset of alternatively spliced unc-52 transcripts. We have also shown with antibodies to UNC-52 that mec-8 affects the abundance of a subset of UNC-52 isoforms. We propose that mec-8 encodes a trans-acting factor that regulates the alternative splicing of the pre-mRNA of unc-52 and one or more additional genes that affect mechanosensory and chemosensory neuron function.
Lundquist
E A
EA
Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108, USA.
Herman
R K
RK
Rogalski
T M
TM
Mullen
G P
GP
Moerman
D G
DG
Shaw
J E
JE
D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D018510:RNA, Helminth / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; D018510:RNA, Helminth; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C099356:mec-8 protein, C elegans; C082396:unc-52 protein, C elegans