2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Molecular genetic studies of asymmetric cell division in C.elegans
| Project/Area Number |
14380349
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Developmental biology
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| Research Institution | RIKEN |
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Principal Investigator |
SAWA Hitoshi RIKEN, Laboratory for Cell Fate Decision, Team Leader, 細胞運命研究チーム, チームリーダー (80222024)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2002 – 2003
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| Keywords | asymmetric cell division / C.elegans / Wnt / cell polarity / SWl / SNF complex / Mediator complex / cyclin E / microtubule |
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| Research Abstract |
Asymmetric cell division is a fundamental mechanism to produce cellular diversity during development. In C.elegans, asymmetries of many cell divisions are regulated by the Wnt signaling pathway. We are focusing on asymmetric division of the T cell during postembryonic development. We screened for mutants that disrupt asymmetry of the T cell division and identified 101 mutants. We have mapped these mutations on each chromosome using SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and performed complementation tests. The results suggests that they are mutations of 51 different genes including those which was identified previously. Our results show that a large number of genes are involved in an asymmetric division of a single cell.
We cloned some of the genes we have identified and analyzed their functions. psa-1O and psa-13 encodes homologs of BAF25O and BAF53 that are components of the SWl/SNF complex. cic-1 and cdk-8 encode a homolog of cyclin C and CDK8 that are components of the transcriptional Mediator complex. We have also shown that these genes regulate asymmetric gene expression in daughter cells after the asymmetric division. We also showed that rmd-1 encodes a novel protein with multiple coiled-coil domains. There are multiple homologs of RMD-1 in mammals whose functions have not been reported. Analyses of embryonic function of rmd-1 revealed that rmd-1 is involved in many microtubule-based processes, such as spindle orientation, cytokinesis and cell polarity in C.elegans embryo.
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