Expression pattern of the C. elegans P21-activated protein kinase, CePAK.

The C. elegans p21-activated protein kinase (CePAK) has a high amino-acid sequence similarity to mammalian PAKs. Tissue specificity of the expression of CePAK was examined using lacZ and GFP reporters. This analysis indicated that CePAK is expressed mainly in pharyngeal muscles, the CAN neurons, and motor neurons in the ventral nerve cord, as well as several cells in the tail region and the distal tip cells. The CePAK::GFP fusion protein was preferentially localized to the cell surface in pharyngeal muscles.