Elsevier

Developmental Biology

Volume 240, Issue 1, 1 December 2001, Pages 32-45
Developmental Biology

Regular Article
Hypodermal Expression of Caenorhabditis elegans TGF-β Type I Receptor SMA-6 Is Essential for the Growth and Maintenance of Body Length

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Abstract

There are several transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathways in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. One of these pathways regulates body length and is composed of the ligand DBL-1, serine/threonine protein kinase receptors SMA-6 and DAF-4, and cytoplasmic signaling components SMA-2, SMA-3, and SMA-4. To further examine the molecular mechanisms of body-length regulation in the nematode by the TGF-β pathway, we examined the regional requirement for the type-I receptor SMA-6. Using a SMA-6::GFP (green fluorescent protein) reporter gene, sma-6 was highly expressed in the hypodermis, unlike the type-II receptor DAF-4, which is reported to be ubiquitously expressed. We then examined the ability of SMA-6 expression in different regions of the C. elegans body to rescue the sma-6 phenotype (small) and found that hypodermal expression of SMA-6 is necessary and sufficient for the growth and maintenance of body length. We also demonstrate that GATA sequences in the sma-6 promoter contribute to the hypodermal expression of sma-6.

Keywords

Caenorhabditis elegans
TGF-β
Sma/Mab pathway
hypodermis
body length

Cited by (0)

1

Present address: Laboratory of Regeneration Biology, Department of Life Science Faculty of Science, Himeji Institute of Technology, Harima Science garden City, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan.

2

To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +81-564-55-7571. E-mail: [email protected].