Worm Breeder's Gazette 15(4): 35 (October 1, 1998)
These abstracts should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020
Three TGFb-like pathways have been defined in C. elegans: the Sma/Mab pathway that responds to dbl-1, the dauer pathway that responds to daf-7, and the unc-129 pathway. We have been examining tig-2, which is a TGFb-like ligand most similar to the BMP5-7/60A class of ligands. If the functions of tig-2 parallel those of its Drosophila counterpart, then it will partially function together with the BMP-like homologs, dbl-1 or daf-7. To address this issue and to determine its mutant phenotype, we have generated null mutations in tig-2. We opted to isolate deletions using a PCR-based screen that closely parallels the method developed by B. Barstead and G. Moulder (http://snmc01.omrf.ouhsc.edu/revgen/RevGen.html). In support of this approach, the nematode groups at Rutgers have coordinated the construction of several "deletion" libraries, and have successfully obtained mutants in several genes. Using this method, we have isolated a 1.5 kb deletion in tig-2, which removes most of the coding sequences. We have observed that homozygous animals are viable and the analysis of their mutant phenotype is underway. Further studies will determine if tig-2 defines a separate pathway or functions in one of the three known TGFb-like pathways of C. elegans.