Ziel Joshua W, Matus David Q, Sherwood David R
Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Gene Expr Patterns. 2009 Sep;9(6):397-403. doi: 10.1016/j.gep.2009.06.005. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
The gonad in Caenorhabditis elegans is an important model system for understanding complex morphogenetic processes including cellular movement, cell fusion, cell invasion and cell polarity during development. One class of signaling proteins known to be critical for the cellular events underlying morphogenesis is the Rho family GTPases, particularly RhoA, Rac and Cdc42. In C. elegans orthologues of these genes have been shown to be important for gonad development. In our current study we have extended those findings by examining the patterns of 5'cis-regulatory element (5'CRE) activity associated with nineteen putative guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) encoded by the C. elegans genome predicted to activate Rho family GTPases. Here we identify 13 RhoGEF genes that are expressed during gonadogenesis and characterize the cells in which their 5'CREs are active. These data provide the basis for designing experiments to examine Rho GTPase activation during morphogenetic processes central to normal gonad development.
秀丽隐杆线虫的性腺是理解复杂形态发生过程的重要模型系统，这些过程包括发育过程中的细胞运动、细胞融合、细胞侵袭和细胞极性。已知对形态发生基础的细胞事件至关重要的一类信号蛋白是Rho家族GTP酶，特别是RhoA、Rac和Cdc42。在秀丽隐杆线虫中，这些基因的直系同源物已被证明对性腺发育很重要。在我们目前的研究中，我们通过检查与秀丽隐杆线虫基因组预测激活Rho家族GTP酶的19个假定鸟嘌呤核苷酸交换因子（GEF）相关的5'顺式调节元件（5'CRE）活性模式，扩展了这些发现。在这里，我们鉴定了13个在性腺发生过程中表达的RhoGEF基因，并对其5'CRE活跃的细胞进行了表征。这些数据为设计实验以检查正常性腺发育核心形态发生过程中Rho GTP酶激活提供了基础。
