Identification of the C. elegans anaphase promoting complex subunit Cdc26 by phenotypic profiling and functional rescue in yeast.
BACKGROUND
RNA interference coupled with videorecording of C. elegans embryos is a powerful method for identifying genes involved in cell division processes. Here we present a functional analysis of the gene B0511.9, previously identified as a candidate cell polarity gene in an RNAi videorecording screen of chromosome I embryonic lethal genes.


RESULTS
Whereas weak RNAi inhibition of B0511.9 causes embryonic cell polarity defects, strong inhibition causes embryos to arrest in metaphase of meiosis I. The range of defects induced by RNAi of B0511.9 is strikingly similar to those displayed by mutants of anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) components. Although similarity searches did not reveal any obvious homologue of B0511.9 in the non-redundant protein database, we found that the N-terminus shares a conserved sequence pattern with the N-terminus of the small budding yeast APC/C subunit Cdc26 and its orthologues from a variety of other organisms. Furthermore, we show that B0511.9 robustly complements the temperature-sensitive growth defect of a yeast cdc26Delta mutant.


CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that B0511.9 encodes the C. elegans APC/C subunit CDC-26.
Dong
Yan
Y
The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. yd208@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk <yd208@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk>
Bogdanova
Aliona
A
Habermann
Bianca
B
Zachariae
Wolfgang
W
Ahringer
Julie
J
D064173:Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018816:Genes, cdc; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D034622:RNA Interference; D018510:RNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*; D043743:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes / Q000235:genetics; D014741:Video Recording
D018510:RNA, Helminth; D043743:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes; D064173:Anaphase-Promoting Complex-Cyclosome