CGC Bibliography Paper 5680

A cuticle collagen encoded by the lon-3 gene may be a target of TGF-beta signaling in determining Caenorhabditis elegans body shape.

Suzuki Y, Morris GA, Han M, Wood WB

Medline:
12524338
Citation:
Genetics 162: 1631-1639 2002
Type:
ARTICLE
Genes:
cye-1 dbl-1 dpy-2 dpy-7 dpy-9 lon-1 lon-2 lon-3 sma-4 sma-6 sqt-1 unc-13 unc-46 ctDf1
Abstract:
The signaling pathway initiated by the TGF-beta family member DBL-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans controls body shape in a dose-dependent manner. Loss-of-function (lf) mutations in the dbl-1 gene cause a short, small body (Sma phenotype), whereas overexpression of dbl-1 causes a long body (Lon phenotype). To understand the cellular mechanisms underlying these phenotypes, we have isolated suppressors of the Sma phenotype resulting from a db1-(lf) mutation. Two of these suppressors are mutations in the lon-3 gene, of which four additional alleles are known. We show that lon-3 encodes a collagen that is a component of the C. elegans cuticle. Genetic and reporter-gene expression analyses suggest that lon-3 is involved in determination of body shape and is post-transcriptionally regulated by the dbl-1 pathway. These results support the possibility that TGF-beta signaling controls C. elegans body shape by regulating cuticle composition.