Transcription regulatory networks in Caenorhabditis elegans

zyg-9 encodes a predicted microtubule-association protein (MAP) of the XMAP215 family; during early embryonic development, maternal zyg-9 activity is required for microtubule-dependent processes such as meiotic and mitotic spindle organization and pronuclear migration; further, zyg-9 is essential for formation of long astral microtubules; ZYG-9 is required for centrosomal localization of TAC-1, the sole C. elegans TACC family member, with which it interacts, and mutually stabilizes, in vivo; in early embryos, ZYG-9 localizes to the meiotic spindle and spindle poles, as well as to mitotic centrosomes; during metaphase and anaphase ZYG-9 localizes to the central spindle region, and during interphase ZYG-9 is cytoplasmic; proper localization of ZYG-9 to the meiotic spindle is dependent upon wild-type activity of MEI-1, an ATPase essential for meiotic spindle formation, while proper localization of ZYG-9 to centrosomes is dependent, at least in part, upon TAC-1.

ZK970.1 encodes, by alternative splicing, two isoforms of a neprilysin; neprilysins are thermolysin-like zinc metallopeptidases, found on the outer surface of animal cells, that negatively regulate small signalling peptides (e.g., enkephalin, tachykinin, insulin, and natriuretic peptides) by cleaving them; ZK970.1 has no clear orthologs in other organisms.