title: NMY-2 maintains cellular asymmetry and cell boundaries, and promotes a SRC-dependent asymmetric cell division.
abstract: The nonmuscle myosin II NMY-2 is required for cytokinesis as well as for the establishment of zygote asymmetry during embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we describe two conditional nmy-2 alleles that rapidly and reversibly inactivate the protein. We show that NMY-2 has late-cell-cycle roles in maintaining embryonic asymmetries and is also required for a surprisingly late step in the maintenance of the cytokinesis furrow. Finally, during a signaling-induced asymmetric cell division, NMY-2 is required for SRC-dependent phosphotyrosine signaling and acts in parallel with WNT-signaling to specify endoderm.
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Ji.Liu@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lisa L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Maduzia
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shirayama
authors.forename: Craig C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Mello
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013696:Temperature; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C480837:NMY-2 protein, C elegans; D051153:Wnt Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases; C471235:SRC-1 protein, C elegans; D018995:Myosin Heavy Chains