CGC Bibliography Paper 5375

SRC-1 and Wnt signaling act together to specify endoderm and to control cleavage orientation in early C. elegans

Bei Y, Hogan J, Berkowitz LA, Soto M, Rocheleau CE, Pang KM, Collins J, Mello CC

Medline:

12110172

Citation:

Developmental Cell 3: 113-125 2002

Type:

ARTICLE

Genes:

apr-1 dsh-2 gsk-3 lit-1 mes-1 mig-5 mom-1 mom-2 mom-3 mom-4 mom-5 pop-1 src-1 wrm-1

Abstract:

In early C. elegans embryos, signaling between a posterior blastomere, P2, and a ventral blastomere, EMS, specifies endoderm and orients the division axis of the EMS cell. Although Wnt signaling contributes to this polarizing interaction, no mutants identified to date abolish P2/EMS signaling. Here, we show that two tyrosine kinase-related genes, src-1 and mes-1, are required for the accumulation of phosphotyrosine between P2 and EMS. Moreover, src-1 and mes-1 mutants strongly enhance endoderm and EMS spindle rotation defects associated with Wnt pathway mutants. SRC-1 and MES-1 signal bidirectionally to control cell fate and division orientation in both EMS and P2. Our findings suggest that Wnt and Src signaling function in parallel to control developmental outcomes within a single responding cell.