Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1992 Oct;132(2):431–442. doi: 10.1093/genetics/132.2.431

Mutations in the Sup-38 Gene of Caenorhabditis Elegans Suppress Muscle-Attachment Defects in Unc-52 Mutants

E J Gilchrist 1, D G Moerman 1
PMCID: PMC1205147  PMID: 1427037

Abstract

Mutations in the unc-52 locus of Caenorhabditis elegans have been classified into three different groups based on their complex pattern of complementation. These mutations result in progressive paralysis (class 1 mutations) or in lethality (class 2 and 3 mutations). The paralysis exhibited by animals carrying class 1 mutations is caused by disruption of the myofilaments at their points of attachment to the cell membrane in the body wall muscle cells. We have determined that mutations of this class also have an effect on the somatic gonad, and this may be due to a similar disruption in the myoepithelial sheath cells of the uterus, or in the uterine muscle cells. Mutations that suppress the body wall muscle defects of the class 1 unc-52 mutations have been isolated, and they define a new locus, sup-38. Only the muscle disorganization of the Unc-52 mutants is suppressed; the gonad abnormalities are not, and the suppressors do not rescue the lethal phenotype of the class 2 and class 3 mutations. The suppressor mutations on their own exhibit a variable degree of gonad and muscle disorganization. Putative null sup-38 mutations cause maternal-effect lethality which is rescued by a wild-type copy of the locus in the zygote. These loss-of-function mutations have no effect on the body wall muscle structure.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.9 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson P., Brenner S. A selection for myosin heavy chain mutants in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Jul;81(14):4470–4474. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.14.4470. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barstead R. J., Waterston R. H. Vinculin is essential for muscle function in the nematode. J Cell Biol. 1991 Aug;114(4):715–724. doi: 10.1083/jcb.114.4.715. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brenner S. The genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1974 May;77(1):71–94. doi: 10.1093/genetics/77.1.71. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burridge K., Fath K., Kelly T., Nuckolls G., Turner C. Focal adhesions: transmembrane junctions between the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1988;4:487–525. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.04.110188.002415. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ferguson E. L., Horvitz H. R. Identification and characterization of 22 genes that affect the vulval cell lineages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1985 May;110(1):17–72. doi: 10.1093/genetics/110.1.17. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Francis R., Waterston R. H. Muscle cell attachment in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Cell Biol. 1991 Aug;114(3):465–479. doi: 10.1083/jcb.114.3.465. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Greenwald I. S., Horvitz H. R. Dominant suppressors of a muscle mutant define an essential gene of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1982 Jun;101(2):211–225. doi: 10.1093/genetics/101.2.211. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hartman P. E., Roth J. R. Mechanisms of suppression. Adv Genet. 1973;17:1–105. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2660(08)60170-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hirsh D., Oppenheim D., Klass M. Development of the reproductive system of Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev Biol. 1976 Mar;49(1):200–219. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(76)90267-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hodgkin J. A., Brenner S. Mutations causing transformation of sexual phenotype in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1977 Jun;86(2 Pt 1):275–287. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hodgkin J., Papp A., Pulak R., Ambros V., Anderson P. A new kind of informational suppression in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1989 Oct;123(2):301–313. doi: 10.1093/genetics/123.2.301. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Horvitz H. R., Brenner S., Hodgkin J., Herman R. K. A uniform genetic nomenclature for the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Gen Genet. 1979 Sep;175(2):129–133. doi: 10.1007/BF00425528. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mackenzie J. M., Jr, Garcea R. L., Zengel J. M., Epstein H. F. Muscle development in Caenorhabditis elegans: mutants exhibiting retarded sarcomere construction. Cell. 1978 Nov;15(3):751–762. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90261-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Martin G. R., Timpl R. Laminin and other basement membrane components. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1987;3:57–85. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.03.110187.000421. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Maruyama I. N., Miller D. M., Brenner S. Myosin heavy chain gene amplification as a suppressor mutation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Gen Genet. 1989 Oct;219(1-2):113–118. doi: 10.1007/BF00261165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Moerman D. G., Plurad S., Waterston R. H., Baillie D. L. Mutations in the unc-54 myosin heavy chain gene of Caenorhabditis elegans that alter contractility but not muscle structure. Cell. 1982 Jul;29(3):773–781. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90439-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Noonan D. M., Fulle A., Valente P., Cai S., Horigan E., Sasaki M., Yamada Y., Hassell J. R. The complete sequence of perlecan, a basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, reveals extensive similarity with laminin A chain, low density lipoprotein-receptor, and the neural cell adhesion molecule. J Biol Chem. 1991 Dec 5;266(34):22939–22947. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Priess J. R., Hirsh D. I. Caenorhabditis elegans morphogenesis: the role of the cytoskeleton in elongation of the embryo. Dev Biol. 1986 Sep;117(1):156–173. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(86)90358-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Riddle D. L., Brenner S. Indirect suppression in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1978 Jun;89(2):299–314. doi: 10.1093/genetics/89.2.299. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Rogalski T. M., Riddle D. L. A Caenorhabditis elegans RNA polymerase II gene, ama-1 IV, and nearby essential genes. Genetics. 1988 Jan;118(1):61–74. doi: 10.1093/genetics/118.1.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Rosenbluth J. Ultrastructural organization of obliquely striated muscle fibers in Ascaris lumbricoides. J Cell Biol. 1965 Jun;25(3):495–515. doi: 10.1083/jcb.25.3.495. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Venolia L., Waterston R. H. The unc-45 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans is an essential muscle-affecting gene with maternal expression. Genetics. 1990 Oct;126(2):345–353. doi: 10.1093/genetics/126.2.345. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Waterston R. H. A second informational suppressor, SUP-7 X, in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1981 Feb;97(2):307–325. doi: 10.1093/genetics/97.2.307. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Waterston R. H., Brenner S. A suppressor mutation in the nematode acting on specific alleles of many genes. Nature. 1978 Oct 26;275(5682):715–719. doi: 10.1038/275715a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Waterston R. H. The minor myosin heavy chain, mhcA, of Caenorhabditis elegans is necessary for the initiation of thick filament assembly. EMBO J. 1989 Nov;8(11):3429–3436. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08507.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Waterston R. H., Thomson J. N., Brenner S. Mutants with altered muscle structure of Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev Biol. 1980 Jun 15;77(2):271–302. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(80)90475-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES