POWRE: TGFB Signaling in the Egg-Laying System of C. elegans

POWRE研究增强奖将为研究人员提供在未研究的类似TGFb信号通路的分支上进行试点工作的机会。转化生长因子β(TGFb)超家族配体通过调控细胞生长、死亡和分化，在多种组织的发育和生理过程中发挥重要作用。要了解TGFb及其相关生长因子是如何发挥作用的，必须了解信号转导途径。该项目的长期目标是利用分子生物学和遗传学方法阐明线虫中的TGFb信号通路。除了一些已知的TGFb信号在线虫发育中的作用外，一些突变体还显示了在产卵系统中的另一个作用。这位研究人员建议研究TGFb信号在产卵中的作用，并确定这一功能的遗传途径。因此，研究人员建议，首先，将这些基因定位到一个精确的位置，为它们的分子克隆做准备。其次，研究人员将表征TGFb途径突变体的产卵缺陷表型及其对环境刺激的反应性。最后，研究人员将确定其他已知的产卵缺陷突变是否代表了在相同途径中发挥作用的基因。虽然这些基因的分子克隆超出了这一提议的范围，但这里描述的基因特征将定义这一信号通路的一个分支，并为未来的分子特征描述提供基础。此外，通过研究TGFb通路的一个分支的发育背景，研究者希望了解信号特异性和串扰的机制。

This POWRE Research Enhancement award willprovide the investigator the opportunity to do pilot work on an unstudied branch of a TGFb-like signaling pathway. Transforming growth factor beta (TGFb) superfamily ligands play important roles in the development and physiology of diverse tissues by controlling cell growth, cell death, and differentiation. To understand how TGFb and related growth factors exert their effects the signal transduction pathway must be known. The long-term objective of this project is the elucidation of TGFb signaling pathways in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, using molecular biological and genetic approaches. Besides several well-characterized roles of TGFb signaling in C. elegans development, some mutants reveal an additional role in the egg laying system. The investigator proposes to study the role of TGFb signaling in egg laying and identify a genetic pathway for this function. The investigator therefore proposes, first, to map these genes to a precise location in preparation for their molecular cloning. Second, the investigator will characterize the egg-laying defective phenotype of TGFb pathway mutants and its responsiveness to environmental stimuli. Finally, the investigator will determine whether other known egg-laying defective mutants represent genes that function in the same pathway. Although the molecular cloning of these genes is beyond the scope of this proposal, the genetic characterization described here will define a branch of this signaling pathway and provide the basis for future molecular characterization. Furthermore, by studying a branch of a TGFb pathway in its developmental context, the investigator hopes to understand the mechanisms of signaling specificity and crosstalk.