title: Three novel T-box genes in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: The T-box gene family consists of members that share a unique DNA binding domain. The best characterized T-box gene, Brachyury or T, encodes a transcription factor that plays an important role in early vertebrate development. Seven other recently described mouse T-box genes are also expressed during development. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, four T-box genes have been characterized to date. In this study, we describe three new C. elegans T-box genes, named Ce-tbx-11, Ce-tbx-12, and Ce-tbx-17. Ce-tbx-11 and Ce-tbx-17 were uncovered through the sequencing efforts of the C. elegans Genome Project. Ce-tbx-12 was uncovered through degenerate PCR analysis of C. elegans genomic DNA. Ce-tbx-11 and Ce-tbx-17 are located in close proximity to the four other previously described T-box genes in the central region of chromosome III. In contrast, Ce-tbx-12 maps alone to chromosome II. Phylogenetic analysis of all known T-box domain sequences provides evidence of an ancient origin for this gene family.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, NJ 08544-1014, USA. SAGULNIK@WATSON.PRINCTON.EDU
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Agulnik
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ruvinsky
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005326:Fetal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098908:Brachyury Protein
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005326:Fetal Proteins; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098908:Brachyury Protein