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.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Mingxue
M
Cui
David S
DS
Fay
Min
M
Han
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