Genetics, Vol 147, 1665-1674, Copyright © 1997

INVESTIGATIONS

A Limited Number of Caenorhabditis elegans Genes Are Readily Mutable to Dominant, Temperature-Sensitive Maternal-Effect Embryonic Lethality

N. L. Mitenko, J. R. Eisner, J. R. Swiston and P. E. Mains
Department of Medical Biochemistry, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada

Dominant gain-of-function mutations can give unique insights into the study of gene function. In addition, gain-of-function mutations, unlike loss-of-function alleles, are not biased against the identification of genetically redundant loci. To identify novel genetic functions active during Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis, we have collected a set of dominant temperature-sensitive maternal-effect embryonic lethal mutations. In a previous screen, we isolated eight such mutations, distributed among six genes. In the present study, we describe eight new dominant mutations that identify only three additional genes, yielding a total of 16 dominant mutations found in nine genes. Therefore, it appears that a limited number of C. elegans genes mutate to this phenotype at appreciable frequencies. Five of the genes that we identified by dominant mutations have loss-of-function alleles. Two of these genes may lack loss-of-function phenotypes, indicating that they are nonessential and so may represent redundant loci. Loss-of-function mutations of three other genes are associated with recessive lethality, indicating nonredundancy.

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