lin-35/Rb cooperates with the SWI/SNF complex to control Caenorhabditis elegans larval development.
Null mutations in lin-35, the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of the mammalian Rb protein, cause no obvious morphological defects. Using a genetic approach to identify genes that may function redundantly with lin-35, we have isolated a mutation in the C. elegans psa-1 gene. lin-35; psa-1 double mutants display severe developmental defects leading to early larval arrest and adult sterility. The psa-1 gene has previously been shown to encode a C. elegans homolog of yeast SWI3, a critical component of the SWI/SNF complex, and has been shown to regulate asymmetric cell divisions during C. elegans development. We observed strong genetic interactions between psa-1 and lin-35 as well as a subset of the class B synMuv genes that include lin-37 and lin-9. Loss-of-function mutations in lin-35, lin-37, and lin-9 strongly enhanced the defects of asymmetric T cell division associated with a psa-1 mutation. Our results suggest that LIN-35/Rb and a certain class B synMuv proteins collaborate with the SWI/SNF protein complex to regulate the T cell division as well as other events essential for larval growth.
Cui
Mingxue
M
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Fay
David S
DS
Han
Min
M
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019070:Cell Lineage; D007814:Larva / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D034622:RNA Interference; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C072981:SWI3 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; C116485:lin-35 protein, C elegans