Abstract
In early C. elegans embryos, signaling between a posterior blastomere, P2, and a ventral blastomere, EMS, specifies endoderm and orients the division axis of the EMS cell. Although Wnt signaling contributes to this polarizing interaction, no mutants identified to date abolish P2/EMS signaling. Here, we show that two tyrosine kinase-related genes, src-1 and mes-1, are required for the accumulation of phosphotyrosine between P2 and EMS. Moreover, src-1 and mes-1 mutants strongly enhance endoderm and EMS spindle rotation defects associated with Wnt pathway mutants. SRC-1 and MES-1 signal bidirectionally to control cell fate and division orientation in both EMS and P2. Our findings suggest that Wnt and Src signaling function in parallel to control developmental outcomes within a single responding cell.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Body Patterning / physiology
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Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology
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Caenorhabditis elegans / embryology*
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Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins*
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Cell Division / physiology*
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Cell Lineage / physiology
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Cell Polarity / physiology*
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DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
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Embryo, Nonmammalian / cytology
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Embryo, Nonmammalian / metabolism*
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Endoderm / cytology
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Endoderm / metabolism*
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Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / physiology
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Helminth Proteins / metabolism*
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High Mobility Group Proteins / metabolism
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Phosphotyrosine / metabolism
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism*
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Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
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Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
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Signal Transduction / physiology
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Wnt Proteins
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Zebrafish Proteins*
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src-Family Kinases / genetics
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src-Family Kinases / isolation & purification*
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src-Family Kinases / metabolism
Substances
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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Helminth Proteins
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High Mobility Group Proteins
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Mes-1 protein, C elegans
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins
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Wnt Proteins
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Zebrafish Proteins
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pop-1 protein, C elegans
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Phosphotyrosine
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src-Family Kinases