title: Gene interactions in Caenorhabditis elegans define DPY-31 as a candidate procollagen C-proteinase and SQT-3/ROL-4 as its predicted major target.
abstract: Zinc metalloproteases of the BMP-1/TOLLOID family (also known as astacins) are extracellular enzymes involved in important developmental processes in metazoans. We report the characterization of the Caenorhabditis elegans gene dpy-31, which encodes the first essential astacin metalloprotease identified in this organism. Loss-of-function mutations in dpy-31 result in cuticle defects, abnormal morphology, and embryonic lethality, indicating that dpy-31 is required for formation of the collagenous exoskeleton. DPY-31 is widely expressed in the hypodermal cells, which are responsible for cuticle secretion. We have investigated the dpy-31 function through reversion analysis. While complete reversion can be obtained only by intragenic suppressors, reversion of the Dpy-31 lethal phenotype also can be caused by dominant extragenic suppressors. Nine extragenic suppressors carry mutations in the uniquely essential collagen gene sqt-3, which we show is the same gene as rol-4. Most mutations exhibit the unusual property of exclusively dominant suppression and all affect the sequence of the SQT-3 collagen C terminus. This suggests that DPY-31 is responsible for C-terminal proteolytic processing of collagen trimers and is therefore a structural and functional homolog of vertebrate BMP-1. The results also demonstrate the critical importance of the collagen C-terminal sequence, which is highly conserved among all 49 members of the SQT-3 subfamily.
authors.affiliation: Genetics Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jacopo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novelli
authors.forename: Shawn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hodgkin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D055395:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 1; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010641:Phenotype; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C511740:DPY-31 protein, C elegans; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D055395:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 1