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The Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determining gene, tra-2, promotes female development in XX animals. In this paper we report the cDNA sequence corresponding to a 4.7 kb tra-2 mRNA and show that it is composed of 23 exons, is trans-spliced to SL2, and contains a perfect direct repeat in the 3' untranslated region. This mRNA is predicted to encode a 1475 amino acid protein, named pTra2A, that has a secretory signal and several potential membrane-spanning domains. The molecular analysis of tra-2 loss-of-function mutations supports our open reading frame identification and suggests that the carboxy-terminal domain is important for tra-2 activity. We propose that in XX animals the carboxy-terminal domain of pTra2A negatively regulates the downstream male promoting fem genes. In XO animals, tra-2 is negatively regulated by her-1, which acts cell nonautonomously. Because hydropathy predictions suggest that pTra2A is an integral membrane protein, pTra2A might act as a receptor for the her-1 protein. We propose that in XO animals, the her-1 protein promotes male development by binding and inactivating pTra2A. The role of cell communication in C. elegans sex determination might be to ensure unified sexual development throughout the animal. If so, then regulation of sexual fate by her-1 and tra-2 might provide a general model for the coordination of groups of cells to follow a single cell fate.

tra-2 encodes a membrane protein and may mediate cell communication in the Caenorhabditis elegans sex determination pathway.