Two pathways converge at CED-10 to mediate actin rearrangement and corpse removal in C. elegans.

The removal of apoptotic cells is essential for the physiological well being of the organism. In Caenorhabditis elegans, two conserved, partially redundant genetic pathways regulate this process. In the first pathway, the proteins CED-2, CED-5 and CED-12 (mammalian homologues CrkII, Dock180 and ELMO, respectively) function to activate CED-10 (Rac1).

Centriolar SAS-5 is required for centrosome duplication in C. elegans.

Centrosomes, the major microtubule-organizing centres (MTOCs) of animal cells, are comprised of a pair of centrioles surrounded by pericentriolar material (PCM). Early in the cell cycle, there is a single centrosome, which duplicates during S-phase to direct bipolar spindle assembly during mitosis. Although crucial for proper cell division, the mechanisms that govern centrosome duplication are not fully understood.

EC STM investigations of corrosion due to chloride solutions on thin CrN coatings.

The focus of the investigations presented is to evaluate local alterations caused by chloride ions affecting thin, magnetron-sputtered CrN layers. Scanning-probe microscopy and analysis techniques are used for this estimation. Thin CrN layers were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering.

STS investigations to describe corrosion procedures on thin CrN layers.

To represent the corrosion characteristics of thin hard material layers, CrN layers, which were magnetron sputtered, have been exposed to solutions with chloride or sulfate ions. The alterations of the layer surfaces were examined. Static immersion tests were carried out ex-situ in 1 mol L(-1) NaCl or 1 mol L(-1) Na(2)SO(4) solution over a period of 14 months.

CSC-1: a subunit of the Aurora B kinase complex that binds to the survivin-like protein BIR-1 and the incenp-like protein ICP-1.

The Aurora B kinase complex is a critical regulator of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. In Caenorhabditis elegans, AIR-2 (Aurora B) function requires ICP-1 (Incenp) and BIR-1 (Survivin). In various systems, Aurora B binds to orthologues of these proteins.

A ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase is required to maintain osmotic balance and execute actin-dependent processes in the early C. elegans embryo.

In the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, establishment of cell polarity and cytokinesis are both dependent upon reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Mutations in the cyk-3 gene cause maternal effect embryonic lethality. Embryos produced by homozygous cyk-3 mutant animals become multinucleate.

CYK-4: A Rho family gtpase activating protein (GAP) required for central spindle formation and cytokinesis.

During cytokinesis of animal cells, the mitotic spindle plays at least two roles. Initially, the spindle positions the contractile ring. Subsequently, the central spindle, which is composed of microtubule bundles that form during anaphase, promotes a late step in cytokinesis.

OOC-3, a novel putative transmembrane protein required for establishment of cortical domains and spindle orientation in the P(1) blastomere of C. elegans embryos.

Asymmetric cell divisions require the establishment of an axis of polarity, which is subsequently communicated to downstream events. During the asymmetric cell division of the P(1) blastomere in C. elegans, establishment of polarity depends on the establishment of anterior and posterior cortical domains, defined by the localization of the PAR proteins, followed by the orientation of the mitotic spindle along the previously established axis of polarity.

Ballistic transformation of Caenorhabditis elegans.

A novel method to transform the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is described. DNA coprecipitated with gold particles is shot at worms by means of a helium beam. Transformed worms are either identified by a dominant visible marker or selected by a conditional lethal system.

Dissection of cell division processes in the one cell stage Caenorhabditis elegans embryo by mutational analysis.

To identify novel components required for cell division processes in complex eukaryotes, we have undertaken an extensive mutational analysis in the one cell stage Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. The large size and optical properties of this cell permit observation of cell division processes with great detail in live specimens by simple differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. We have screened an extensive collection of maternal-effect embryonic lethal mutations on chromosome III with time-lapse DIC video microscopy.

Complexity of developmental control: analysis of embryonic cell lineage specification in Caenorhabditis elegans using pes-1 as an early marker.

In the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo five somatic founder cells are born during the first cleavages. The first of these founder cells, named AB, gives rise to 389 of the 558 nuclei present in the hatching larva. Very few genes directly involved in the specification of the AB lineage have been identified so far.

cyk-1: a C. elegans FH gene required for a late step in embryonic cytokinesis.

A maternally expressed Caenorhabditis elegans gene called cyk-1 is required for polar body extrusion during meiosis and for a late step in cytokinesis during embryonic mitosis. Other microfilament- and microtubule-dependent processes appear normal in cyk-1 mutant embryos, indicating that cyk-1 regulates a specific subset of cytoskeletal functions. Because cytokinesis initiates normally and cleavage furrows ingress extensively in cyk-1 mutant embryos, we propose that the wild-type cyk-1 gene is required for a late step in cytokinesis.

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase is maternally essential in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The mel-32 gene in the free living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans encodes a serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) isoform. Seventeen ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS)-induced mutant alleles of mel-32(SHMT) have been generated, each of which causes a recessive maternal effect lethal phenotype. Animals homozygous for the SHMT mutations have no observable mutant phenotype, but their offspring display an embryonic lethal phenotype.

Binary specification of the embryonic lineage in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In Caenorhabditis elegans, the early embryo contains five somatic founder cells (known as AB, MS, E, C and D) which give rise to very different lineages. Two simply produce twenty intestinal (E) or muscle (D) cells each, whereas the remainder produce a total of 518 cells which collectively contribute in a complex pattern to a variety of tissues. A central problem in embryonic development is to understand how the developmental potential of blastomeres is restricted to permit the terminal expression of such complex differentiation patterns.

Assessing normal embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans using a 4D microscope: variability of development and regional specification.

Caenorhabditis elegans is renowned for its invariant embryogenesis. This pattern of development is in apparent contrast to other organisms from Drosophila to higher vertebrates. With the aid of a 4D microscope system (multifocal, time-lapse video recording system) which permits the extensive documentation and analysis of cell divisions, cell positions, and migrations in single embryos we have analyzed normal embryogenesis of C.

mex-1 and the general partitioning of cell fate in the early C. elegans embryo.

It is thought that at least some of the initial specification of the five somatic founder cells of the C. elegans embryo occurs cell-autonomously through the segregation of factors during cell divisions. It has been suggested that in embryos from mothers homozygous for mutations in the maternal-effect gene mex-1, four blastomeres of the 8-cell embryo adopt the fate of the MS blastomere.

Genesis of an organ: molecular analysis of the pha-1 gene.

The organisation of organ formation is still an unsolved problem. Mutations in the zygotic lethal gene pha-1 affect a late step during organ development in the nematode C. elegans.

Suppressors of the organ-specific differentiation gene pha-1 of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The embryonic lethal gene pha-1 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is required for late differentiation and morphogenesis of the pharynx in the developing embryo. Revertants of two temperature-sensitive alleles of pha-1 were isolated with the aim of obtaining mutations in genes that interact with pha-1. By various methods of mutagenesis, chemical, X-ray, transposon, or by spontaneous reversion, 220 recessive revertants were obtained, defining three complementation groups.

An Organ-Specific Differentiation Gene, pha-1, from Caenorhabditis elegans.

Embryonic lethal mutations in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans were generated and screened for phenotypes that suggest regulatory functions in order to identify genes involved in the control ofearly development. In embryos homozygous for mutations in one such gene, pha-1, the pharynx fails to undergo late differentiation and morphogenesis. Early pharynx development is not affected; thus, pha-l controls the latter stages of this developmental process.

[Distemper as the cause of death in badgers in Austria].

A canine distemper virus infection of badgers in a hunting range in Austria is described. A badger which was shot after showing symptoms of rabies infection and one which was found dead were examined by gross pathology and parasitological, histological, bacteriological and virological methods. The examination for rabies was negative in both cases.

Early determination in the C. elegans embryo: a gene, cib-1, required to specify a set of stem-cell-like blastomeres.

The early somatic blastomeres founding the tissues in the C. elegans embryo are derived in a stem-cell-like lineage from the P cells. We have isolated maternal effect lethal mutations defining the gene cib-1 in which the P cells, P1-P3, skip a cell cycle and acquire the fates of only their somatic daughters.

The glp-1 locus and cellular interactions in early C. elegans embryos.

Interactions between the early blastomeres in a C. elegans embryo are required for the specification of certain cell fates. Blastomeres that produce neurons and skin cells when cultured in isolation are induced to also produce pharyngeal cells in intact embryos.

Sequence analysis of the insertion element ISH1.8 and of associated structural changes in the genome of phage PhiH of the archaebacterium Halobacterium halobium.

We have sequenced the insertion element ISH1.8 which can be present in one or two copies in the genome of phage PhiH of Halobacterium halobium. ISH1.