EAT-20, a novel transmembrane protein with EGF motifs, is required for efficient feeding in Caenorhabditis elegans.
The pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans is a neuromuscular organ responsible for feeding, concentrating food by its pumping movement. A class of mutants, the eat mutants, are defective in this behavior. We have identified a novel eat gene, eat-20, encoding a unique transmembrane protein with three EGF motifs. Staining with a specific polyclonal antibody reveals that EAT-20 is expressed predominantly in the pharyngeal muscles and a subset of neurons. Some hypodermal cells also express EAT-20. eat-20 mutant animals are starved, have smaller brood sizes, and have prolonged egg-laying periods. The starvation apparently results from pharyngeal pumping defects, including a reduced pumping rate and "slippery pumping," in which the contents of the pharynx sometimes move rostrally. However, electrical activity of eat-20 mutants appears normal by electropharyngeogram.
Shibata
Y
Y
Division of Biological Science, Nagoya University Graduate School of Science, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
Fujii
T
T
Dent
J A
JA
Fujisawa
H
H
Takagi
S
S
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C404993:eat-20 protein, C elegans; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor