High impact information on sqt-1

• The Tc1 insertion mutant has no detectable sqt-1 transcripts, yet it is morphologically normal, indicating that the null phenotype of sqt-1 is wild type [1].
• The sqt-1 gene of C. elegans encodes a collagen critical for organismal morphogenesis [1].
• Equivalent alterations in sqt-1 and rol-6 generally produced the same phenotypes, indicating that conserved amino acids in these two collagens have similar functions [2].
• The amino acid sequence of the collagen encoded by rol-6 is more similar to that of the sqt-1 collagen than to any of the other ten C. elegans cuticle collagen sequences compared [3].
• The SQT-1 pattern differs from the bulk of cuticle collagens which are found in trimer and larger forms. sqt-1 mutations that cause left-handed helical twisting of animals remove a conserved carboxyl-domain cysteine and inhibit formation of these non-reducible bonds [4].

Associations of sqt-1 with chemical compounds

• The locations of cysteine residues flanking the Gly-X-Y repeat regions of rol-6 and sqt-1 are identical, but differ from those in the other collagens [3].
• In contrast to other collagens, glycine replacement mutations in the Gly-X-Y repeats of sqt-1 cause very mild phenotypes [5].

Regulatory relationships of sqt-1

• Furthermore, phenotypes caused by defects in dbl-1 or lon-3 expression are in both cases suppressed by a null mutation in sqt-1, a second cuticle collagen gene [6].

Other interactions of sqt-1

• The Caenorhabditis elegans rol-6 gene, which interacts with the sqt-1 collagen gene to determine organismal morphology, encodes a collagen [3].
• These data include the morphologic phenotypes exhibited by mutants, unusual genetic interactions with the sqt-1 collagen gene, and suppression of mutations in the glp-1 and mup-1 genes [7].
• A similar ray morphology phenotype was observed in males harboring mutations in three previously defined genes, dpy-11, dpy-18 and sqt-1, that also affect body shape [8].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of sqt-1

• Sequence analysis of the sqt-1 gene shows that it encodes a 32 kd collagen polypeptide that is similar in size and structure to other members of the C. elegans collagen family [1].

References