| Literature DB >> 9828124 |
T Ventura-Holman1, M F Seldin, W Li, J F Maher.
Abstract
The pathway controlling sex determination in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a model for the genetic control of cell-fate determination. We report here the cloning and characterization of a new mouse gene family with homology to FEM-1, a signal-transducing regulator in the C. elegans sex-determination pathway. This gene family consists of two known members, designated Fem1a and Fem1b. The highest degree of homology between the two mouse proteins and the nematode protein is in a domain that encodes seven sequential ANK repeats. The Fem1a gene localizes to chromosome 17 and is highly expressed in adult heart and skeletal muscle. The Fem1b gene localizes to chromosome 9 and is highly expressed in adult testis. Both genes are expressed during embryogenesis. The existence of FEM-1 homologs in the mouse raises the possibility that evolutionary conservation of ancient FEM-1 signaling interactions may play a role in vertebrate cell-fate determination. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.Entities:
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Year: 1998 PMID： 9828124 DOI： 10.1006/geno.1998.5569
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Genomics ISSN： 0888-7543 Impact factor: 5.736