Abstract
By screening C. elegans mutants for severe defects in germline proliferation, we isolated a new loss-of-function allele of cdc-25.1, bn115. bn115 and another previously identified loss-of-function allele nr2036 do not exhibit noticeable cell division defects in the somatic tissues but have reduced numbers of germ cells and are sterile, indicating that cdc-25.1 functions predominantly in the germ line during postembryonic development, and that cdc-25.1 activity is probably not required in somatic lineages during larval development. We analyzed cell division of germ cells and somatic tissues in bn115 homozygotes with germline-specific anti-PGL-1 immunofluorescence and GFP transgenes that express in intestinal cells, in distal tip cells, and in gonadal sheath cells, respectively. We also analyzed the expression pattern of cdc-25.1 with conventional and quantitative RT-PCR. In the presence of three other family members of cdc-25 in C. elegans defects are observed only in the germ line but not in the somatic tissues in cdc-25.1 single mutants, and cdc-25.1 is expressed predominantly, if not exclusively, in the germ line during postembryonic stages. Our findings indicate that the function of cdc-25.1 is unique in the germ line but likely redundant with other members in the soma.
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Kim, J., Lee, AR., Kawasaki, I. et al. A mutation of cdc-25.1 causes defects in germ cells but not in somatic tissues in C. elegans . Mol Cells 28, 43–48 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-009-0098-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-009-0098-8