High impact information on unc-34

• Within the migrating axon, sax-3, unc-34 and unc-40 all act cell-autonomously [1].
• In axons that are guided toward ventral netrin, unc-34 is required for the formation of filopodia and mig-10 increases the number of filopodia [2].
• In unc-34 mutants, developing axons that lack filopodia are still guided to netrin through lamellipodial growth [2].
• Reducing wve-1 levels in either unc-34/ena or wsp-1 mutant backgrounds also leads to a significant enhancement of the gastrulation and morphogenesis defects [3].
• To identify additional genes that act in parallel to unc-34/ena during morphogenesis, we performed a screen for synthetic lethals in an unc-34 null mutant background utilizing an RNAi feeding approach [3].

Biological context of unc-34

• The single mutants have relatively mild phenotypes, but mig-10; unc-34 double mutants arrest early in development with severe axon guidance defects [2].
• Using recombination and deficiency mapping we established the following gene order: let-336, unc-34, let-326, unc-60, emb-29, let-426 [4].

References