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Isopentenyl-diphosphate isomerase is essential for viability of Caenorhabditis elegans

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Abstract

Homozygosity for a mutation in the idi-1 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans results in paralysis during the first larval stage, followed by an arrest of growth and development late in the first larval stage. Apoptotic corpses, which are apparently the result of normal programmed cell death, persist in the arrested larvae. In genetic mosaics, an additional defect becomes evident upon examination with Nomarski optics: cells that are genotypically mutant enlarge, and their cytoplasm becomes dimpled. Electron microscopy indicates that the dimpling reflects an accumulation of many enlarged lysosomes and autophagosomes. The mosaics demonstrate that the lethal mutation acts cell autonomously with respect to this vesicular abnormality and that there is a maternal effect with respect to the time of developmental arrest of mutant progeny. Cloning of the gene reveals that it is the only gene in C. elegans for isopentenyl-diphosphate isomerase, an enzyme that is important for the synthesis of lipophilic molecules, including farnesyl and geranyl diphosphates.

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Acknowledgements

Some nematode strains were supplied by the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, which is supported by a contract between the NIH National Center for Research Resources and the University of Minnesota. Support from grants GM 22387 (to R. K. H.) and RR 12596 (to D. H. H.), both from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, is gratefully acknowledged. This work has been carried out in compliance with the current laws governing genetic experimentation in the USA

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, 6-160 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    John Yochem, Leslie R. Bell & Robert K. Herman

  2. Center for C. elegans Anatomy, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    David H. Hall

  3. Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Edward M. Hedgecock

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  1. John Yochem
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Correspondence to John Yochem.

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Yochem, J., Hall, D.H., Bell, L.R. et al. Isopentenyl-diphosphate isomerase is essential for viability of Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol Genet Genomics 273, 158–166 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-004-1101-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-004-1101-x

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