Politz J C, Edgar R S
Cell. 1984 Jul;37(3):853-60. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90420-3.
Caenorhabditis elegans synthesizes four morphologically distinct types of collagenous cuticles during its lifetime. We show that in RNA populations isolated early or late during the L4-to-adult molt, chick and nematode collagen DNAs hybridize strongly to RNAs of about 1.2 kb. Different but overlapping classes of correspondingly small collagenous polypeptides (310-460 residues in length) are translated in vitro from these two populations and from RNA isolated at the L2-to-dauer molt. Over 60 different collagenous translation products are identified. These collagenous polypeptides are smaller than mature cuticle collagens and smaller than most vertebrate collagens. They probably represent cuticle collagen precursors and the primary products of the cuticle collagen genes of C. elegans.
秀丽隐杆线虫在其生命周期中合成四种形态不同类型的胶原质表皮。我们发现，在从L4期到成虫蜕皮的早期或晚期分离的RNA群体中，鸡和线虫的胶原DNA与约1.2 kb的RNA强烈杂交。从这两个群体以及从L2期到 dauer 期蜕皮时分离的RNA中，体外翻译出了不同但相互重叠的相应小胶原多肽类（长度为310 - 460个残基）。鉴定出了60多种不同的胶原翻译产物。这些胶原多肽比成熟的表皮胶原小，也比大多数脊椎动物胶原小。它们可能代表表皮胶原前体以及秀丽隐杆线虫表皮胶原基因的初级产物。
