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Suppression of an amber mutation by microinjection of suppressor tRNA in C. elegans

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Abstract

Informational suppression by nonsense suppressor tRNAs has classically been a powerful tool for study of the mechanism of protein synthesis, to obtain conditional mutants and to demonstrate that a gene encodes a given protein product (for reviews see refs 1–3). In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, two genetically identified suppressors, sup-5 and sup-7 (refs 4,5), have recently been shown to be amber suppressor tRNAs (N. Wills, R. F. Gesteland, J. Kara, L. Barnett, S. Bolten and R. H. Waterston, personal communication). We report here the microinjection of sup-7 tRNA into the gonad of an animal bearing an amber allele of a maternal-effect mutant affecting sex determination (tra-3). We observe phenotypic suppression in the injected parent's offspring. tRNA from wild-type animals does not show this in vivo suppressor activity, and sup-7 tRNA does not cause suppression of a non-amber allele of the same gene, In vivo suppression of an amber mutant by microinjection provides a new means of gene manipulation in C. elegans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK

    Judith Kimble, Jonathan Hodgkin, Terry Smith & John Smith

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  1. Judith Kimble
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  2. Jonathan Hodgkin
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  3. Terry Smith
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  4. John Smith
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Kimble, J., Hodgkin, J., Smith, T. et al. Suppression of an amber mutation by microinjection of suppressor tRNA in C. elegans. Nature 299, 456–458 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/299456a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/299456a0

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