Synaptic neurotransmission protein UNC-13 affects RNA interference in neurons.
Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-13 is an integral component of the synaptic vesicle cycle, functioning in the priming step. A recent yeast two-hybrid screen against UNC-13 identified three interacting proteins that are thought to function in pathways other than neurotransmitter release. One such protein, ERI-1, negatively regulates exogenous RNA interference in the nervous system and other tissues. This study investigates a role for UNC-13 in RNAi through analysis of RNAi penetrance in unc-13 and eri-1 mutant strains. Feeding these strains double stranded RNA corresponding to a neuronally expressed GFP reporter resulted in a significant reduction of GFP in double mutants compared to GFP expression in eri-1 mutants, indicating that UNC-13 functions in conjunction with ERI-1 in RNAi. There is no evidence for altered neurotransmission in eri-1 mutants.
Chapin
Alexander
A
Department of Biology, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA 19426, USA.
Correa
Paola
P
Maguire
Meghan
M
Kohn
Rebecca
R
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D005095:Exoribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C083141:phorbol ester binding protein; C482202:ERI-1 protein, C elegans; D005095:Exoribonucleases