Spatial Control of Gut-Specific Gene Expression During Caenorhabditis elegans Development

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 252; no. 5005; pp. 579 - 582
• Main Authors: Aamodt, Eric J., Chung, May A., McGhee, James D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 26.04.1991; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animals; Binding sites; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Caenorhabditis - embryology; Caenorhabditis - enzymology; Caenorhabditis - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans; Carboxylesterase; Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases - genetics; Cell lines; Cellular biology; Chromosome Deletion; Cousins; Developmental genetics; Digestive system; Digestive System - embryology; Digestive System - enzymology; DNA; DNA - genetics; Embryo, Nonmammalian - physiology; Embryos; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; Genetic aspects; Genetics; Integument; Medical research; Models, Biological; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Muscle cells; Oocytes; Organ Specificity; Pharynx; Upstream sequence; Enzyme; Tissue specificity; Carboxylesterase; Gene expression; Structure function relationship; Caenorhabditis elegans; Regulation(control); Enzymatic activity; Helmintha; Deletion; Development; Nemathelminthia; Models; Invertebrata; Nematoda
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.2020855

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was transformed with constructs containing upstream deletions of the gut-specific ges-1 carboxylesterase gene. With particular deletions, ges-1 was expressed, not as normally in the gut, but rather in muscle cells of the pharynx (which belong to a sister lineage of the gut) or in body wall muscle and hypodermal cells (which belong to a cousin lineage of the gut). These observations suggest that gut-specific gene expression in C. elegans involves not only gut-specific activators but also multiple repressors that are present in particular nongut lineages.