Novel UNC-44 AO13 ankyrin is required for axonal guidance in C. elegans, contains six highly repetitive STEP blocks separated by seven potential transmembrane domains, and is localized to neuronal processes and the periphery of neural cell bodies.

Conventional ankyrins are cortical cytoskeletal proteins that form an ankyrin-spectrin meshwork underlying the plasma membrane. We report here the unusual structure of a novel ankyrin (AO13 ankyrin, 775,369 Da, 6994 aa, pI = 4.45) that is required for proper axonal guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans.