Caenorhabditis elegans LET-502 is related to Rho-binding kinases and human myotonic dystrophy kinase and interacts genetically with a homolog of the regulatory subunit of smooth muscle myosin phosphatase to affect cell shape

• Published in: Genes & development Vol. 11; no. 4; pp. 409 - 422
• Main Authors: Wissmann, A, Ingles, J, McGhee, J D, Mains, P E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 15.02.1997
• Subjects: Alleles; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - cytology; Caenorhabditis elegans - embryology; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Cell Size; Cloning, Molecular; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genes, Suppressor; GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Humans; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Molecular Sequence Data; Myosin-Light-Chain Phosphatase; Myotonin-Protein Kinase; Phosphoprotein Phosphatases - metabolism; Protein Binding; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; rho-Associated Kinases; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
• ISSN: 0890-9369; 1549-5477
• DOI: 10.1101/gad.11.4.409

We have identified two genes associated with the hypodermal cell shape changes that occur during elongation of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. The first gene, called let-502, encodes a protein with high similarity to Rho-binding Ser/Thr kinases and to human myotonic dystrophy kinase (DM-kinase). Strong mutations in let-502 block embryonic elongation, and let-502 reporter constructs are expressed in hypodermal cells at the elongation stage of development. The second gene, mel-11, was identified by mutations that act as extragenic suppressors of let-502. mel-11 encodes a protein similar to the 110- to 133-kD regulatory subunits of vertebrate smooth muscle myosin-associated phosphatase (PP-1M). We suggest that the LET-502 kinase and the MEL-11 phosphatase subunit act in a pathway linking a signal generated by the small GTP-binding protein Rho to a myosin-based hypodermal contractile system that drives embryonic elongation. LET-502 may directly regulate the activity of the MEL-11 containing phosphatase complex and the similarity between LET-502 and DM-kinase suggests a similar function for DM-kinase.