Small GTPases.

Small GTPases of the Ras superfamily are key regulators of diverse cellular and developmental events, including differentiation, cell division, vesicle transport, nuclear assembly, and control of the cytoskeleton. The C. elegans genome encodes 56 members of the major Ras GTPase subfamilies, including the Ras/Ral/Rap family, the Rho family, the Rab family, Ran, and the Arf/Sar family. Studies in C. elegans have shown that Ras/Rap family members control cell fate specification and differentiation; Rho GTPases control morphogenesis and actin dynamics, including axon pathfinding and cell migration; Rab GTPases control synaptic vesicle trafficking and release and gene expression responses in innate immunity; the Ran GTPase controls nuclear import/export, nuclear reassembly after mitosis, and kinetechore association with microtubules; and Arf/Sar GTPases control morphogenesis and microtubule organization and possibly cilia development. Functions for many of the small GTPases remain to be discovered, and continuing studies in C. elegans will elucidate the roles of these molecules in animal development.