title: Identification and characterization of a novel allele of Caenorhabditis elegans bbs-7.
abstract: Primary cilia play a role in the sensation of and response to the surrounding environment. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) have primary cilia only on the distal tips of some dendrites. In order to better understand the relationship between receptor localization to cilia, cilia structure and cilia function, we have characterized a mutation originally identified in a forward genetic screen for mutants with defective PKD-2 ciliary localization. Through behavioral assays and examination of the structure of cilia in the cil-5 (my13) mutant animals, we have found that my13 disrupts not only receptor localization, but also some cilia-mediated sensory behaviors and cilia structural integrity. We have identified the my13 lesion and found that it is a missense mutation in bbs-7, an ortholog of human BBS-7, a gene known to affect human cilia and to be involved in Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Finally, we show that bbs-7(my13) also affects the glia cells which support the cilia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Phillips Hall 330, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Braunreiter
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Phillips Hall 330, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shelby
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Phillips Hall 330, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyman-Gingerich
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D002923:Cilia / Q000235:genetics; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D016678:Genome; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins