High impact information on ubc-25

• Caenorhabditis elegans gene ubc-25 encodes a novel type of an E2 ubiquitin transferase domain (UBCc) protein, which is highly conserved in multicellular animals, but which is not present in the genomes of fungi or plants [1].
• These experiments showed that ubc-25 expression starts during embryogenesis and that it is restricted to neurons and muscle cells in all later stages of development as well as in adult animals [1].
• We therefore propose that ubc-25 in C. elegans is required for the maintenance (homeostasis) of neuromuscular functions by contributing to a tissue specific protein modification pathway, and we speculate that the adult onset phenotype results from the accumulation of target proteins which fail to be degraded [1].
• RNA interference with ubc-25 caused late-onset paralysis of most muscular functions such as locomotion, egg laying, and defecation [1].

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