A suppressor mutation in the nematode acting on specific alleles of many genes.

A suppressor mutation has been isolated in Caenorhabditis elegans through reversion analysis of a muscle-defective mutant. The suppressor mutation acts on specific alleles of at least six genes and in one case we have been able to show that it partially restores functional gene product to a mutant otherwise lacking that product. These and other features of the suppressor suggest that it acts at some step in information transfer, perhaps through mechanisms similar to those described previously in microorganisms.