A mutation of cdc-25.1 causes defects in germ cells but not in somatic tissues in C. elegans.
By screening C. elegans mutants for severe defects in germline proliferation, we isolated a new loss-of-function allele of cdc-25.1, bn115. bn115 and another previously identified loss-of-function allele nr2036 do not exhibit noticeable cell division defects in the somatic tissues but have reduced numbers of germ cells and are sterile, indicating that cdc-25.1 functions predominantly in the germ line during postembryonic development, and that cdc-25.1 activity is probably not required in somatic lineages during larval development. We analyzed cell division of germ cells and somatic tissues in bn115 homozygotes with germline-specific anti-PGL-1 immunofluorescence and GFP transgenes that express in intestinal cells, in distal tip cells, and in gonadal sheath cells, respectively. We also analyzed the expression pattern of cdc-25.1 with conventional and quantitative RT-PCR. In the presence of three other family members of cdc-25 in C. elegans defects are observed only in the germ line but not in the somatic tissues in cdc-25.1 single mutants, and cdc-25.1 is expressed predominantly, if not exclusively, in the germ line during postembryonic stages. Our findings indicate that the function of cdc-25.1 is unique in the germ line but likely redundant with other members in the soma.
Kim
Jiyoung
J
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701, Korea.
Lee
Ah-Reum
AR
Kawasaki
Ichiro
I
Strome
Susan
S
Shim
Yhong-Hee
YH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C533900:CDC-25.1 protein, C elegans; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases