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The unc‐18 Gene Encodes a Novel Protein Affecting the Kinetics of Acetylcholine Metabolism in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Author(s) -
Hosono R.,
Hekimi S.,
Kamiya Y.,
Sassa T.,
Murakami S.,
Nishiwaki K.,
Miwa J.,
Taketo A.,
Kodaira K.I.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1992.tb11373.x
Subject(s) - caenorhabditis elegans , biology , gene , mutant , locus (genetics) , genetics , caenorhabditis , transposable element , allele , gene expression
Abstract: Genes affecting acetylcholine (ACh) levels without influencing choline acetyltransferase activity have been identified in Caenorhabditis elegans. We have examined one such gene, unc‐18. We isolated a transposon‐insertion allele for unc‐18 and used it to clone a genomic region containing the unc‐18 locus. The unc‐18 location within this region was determined by rescuing the unc‐18 mutant phenotype in a germline transformation experiment and identifying transcripts affected by four independent unc‐18 mutations. A single‐sized poly(A) + RNA was synthesized from the gene. Expression of the transcript appears to be stage specific: The transcript is found in abundance at the early larval stage but in decreased amounts at the fourth larval and the adult stages. These results show that the unc‐18 gene plays a role in development as well as in the kinetics of ACh metabolism.