tcl-2 encodes a novel
protein that acts synergistically with Wnt signaling pathways in C.
elegans
Zhao X, Sawa H and Herman M A
Dev Biol 256(2):276-89 (2003)
SUMMARY
Mutations in tcl-2 cause defects in the specification of the fates of the
descendants of the TL and TR blast cells, whose polarity is regulated
by lin-44/Wnt and lin-17/frizzled, during Caenorhabditis elegans development.
In wild-type animals, POP-1/TCF/LEF, is asymmetrically distributed to
the T cell daughters, resulting in a higher level of POP-1 in the nucleus
of the anterior daughter. The POP-1 asymmetric distribution is controlled
by lin-44 and lin-17. However, in tcl-2 mutants, POP-1 is equally distributed
to T cell daughters as is observed in lin-17 mutants, indicating that,
like lin-17, tcl-2 functions upstream of pop-1. In addition, tcl-2 mutations
cause defects in the development of the gonad and the specification of
fate of the posterior daughter of the P12 cell, both of which are controlled
by the Wnt pathway. Double mutant analyses indicate that tcl-2 can act
synergistically with the Wnt pathway to control gonad development as well
as P12 descendant cell fate specification. tcl-2 encodes a novel protein.
A functional tcl-2::gfp construct was weakly expressed in the nuclei of
the T cell and its descendants. Our results suggest that tcl-2 functions
with Wnt pathways to control T cell fate specification, gonad development,
and P12 cell fate specification.
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