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Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Baugh, LR; Wen, JC; Hill, AA; Slonim, DK; Brown, EL; Hunter, CP
Published in: Genome biology
January 2005

Phenotypic robustness is evidenced when single-gene mutations do not result in an obvious phenotype. It has been suggested that such phenotypic stability results from 'buffering' activities of homologous genes as well as non-homologous genes acting in parallel pathways. One approach to characterizing mechanisms of phenotypic robustness is to identify genetic interactions, specifically, double mutants where buffering is compromised. To identify interactions among genes implicated in posterior patterning of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, we measured synthetic lethality following RNA interference of 22 genes in 15 mutant strains. A pair of homologous T-box transcription factors (tbx-8 and tbx-9) is found to interact in both C. elegans and C. briggsae, indicating that their compensatory function is conserved. Furthermore, a muscle module is defined by transitive interactions between the MyoD homolog hlh-1, another basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, hnd-1, and the MADS-box transcription factor unc-120. Genetic interactions within a homologous set of genes involved in vertebrate myogenesis indicate broad conservation of the muscle module and suggest that other genetic modules identified in C. elegans will be conserved.

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Published In

Genome biology

DOI

EISSN

1474-760X

ISSN

1474-7596

Publication Date

January 2005

Volume

6

Issue

5

Start / End Page

R45

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • RNA Interference
  • Phenotype
  • Mutation
  • Muscles
  • Genomics
  • Genes, Lethal
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Body Patterning
 

Citation

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Chicago
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Baugh, L. R., Wen, J. C., Hill, A. A., Slonim, D. K., Brown, E. L., & Hunter, C. P. (2005). Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions. Genome Biology, 6(5), R45. https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2005-6-5-r45
Baugh, L Ryan, Joanne C. Wen, Andrew A. Hill, Donna K. Slonim, Eugene L. Brown, and Craig P. Hunter. “Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions.Genome Biology 6, no. 5 (January 2005): R45. https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2005-6-5-r45.
Baugh LR, Wen JC, Hill AA, Slonim DK, Brown EL, Hunter CP. Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions. Genome biology. 2005 Jan;6(5):R45.
Baugh, L. Ryan, et al. “Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions.Genome Biology, vol. 6, no. 5, Jan. 2005, p. R45. Epmc, doi:10.1186/gb-2005-6-5-r45.
Baugh LR, Wen JC, Hill AA, Slonim DK, Brown EL, Hunter CP. Synthetic lethal analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans posterior embryonic patterning genes identifies conserved genetic interactions. Genome biology. 2005 Jan;6(5):R45.

Published In

Genome biology

DOI

EISSN

1474-760X

ISSN

1474-7596

Publication Date

January 2005

Volume

6

Issue

5

Start / End Page

R45

Related Subject Headings

  • Transcription Factors
  • RNA Interference
  • Phenotype
  • Mutation
  • Muscles
  • Genomics
  • Genes, Lethal
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Body Patterning