QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Vol. 15, Issue 7, 3073-3082, July 2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: E04-01-0039v1 15/7/3073    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Walker, D. S. Articles by Baylis, H. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Walker, D. S. Articles by Baylis, H. A.

IRI-1, a LIN-15B Homologue, Interacts with Inositol-1,4,5-Triphosphate Receptors and Regulates Gonadogenesis, Defecation, and Pharyngeal Pumping in Caenorhabditis elegans

Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom

Submitted January 16, 2004; Revised March 26, 2004; Accepted April 26, 2004
Monitoring Editor: Susan Strome

Inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate receptors (IP₃Rs) are ligand-gated Ca²⁺ channels that control Ca²⁺ release from intracellular stores. They are central to a wide range of cellular responses. IP₃Rs in Caenorhabditis elegans are encoded by a single gene, itr-1, and are widely expressed. Signaling through IP₃ and IP₃Rs is important in ovulation, control of the defecation cycle, modulation of pharyngeal pumping rate, and embryogenesis. To further elucidate the molecular basis of the diversity of IP₃R function, we used a yeast two-hybrid screen to search for proteins that interact with ITR-1. We identified an interaction between ITR-1 and IRI-1, a previously uncharacterized protein with homology to LIN-15B. Iri-1 is widely expressed, and its expression overlaps significantly with that of itr-1. In agreement with this observation, iri-1 functions in known itr-1-mediated processes, namely, upregulation of pharyngeal pumping in response to food and control of the defecation cycle. Knockdown of iri-1 in an itr-1 loss-of-function mutant potentiates some of these effects and sheds light on the signaling pathways that control pharyngeal pumping rate. Knockdown of iri-1 expression also results in a sterile, evl phenotype, as a consequence of failures in early Z1/Z4 lineage divisions, such that gonadogenesis is severely disrupted.

^* Corresponding author. E-mail address: hab{at}mole.bio.cam.ac.uk.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. J. Cram, H. Shang, and J. E. Schwarzbauer A systematic RNA interference screen reveals a cell migration gene network in C. elegans J. Cell Sci., December 1, 2006; 119(23): 4811 - 4818. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Chesney, A. R. Kidd III, and J. Kimble gon-14 Functions With Class B and Class C Synthetic Multivulva Genes to Control Larval Growth in Caenorhabditis elegans Genetics, February 1, 2006; 172(2): 915 - 928. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]