Transcription regulatory networks in Caenorhabditis elegans

Gene

Public Gene Name

bbs-8  

Sequence Name

T25F10.5  

WB ID

WBGene00000244  

Description

bbs-8 encodes a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-containing protein that is orthologous to the human Bardet-Biedl syndrome protein, BBS8; in C. elegans, bbs-8 activity is required for cilia biogenesis and function; accordingly, bbs-8 mutant animals display odorant chemotaxis defects and exhibit both aberrant motility and abnormal localization of at least two intraflagellar transport (IFT) protein markers; a BBS-8::GFP translational fusion is expressed exclusively in ciliated head and tail neurons, where it localizes predominantly to the base of cilia, known as the ciliary transition zone; BBS-8::GFP is also observed moving bidirectionally (anterograde and retrograde) along the ciliary axoneme; DNA sequences upstream of bbs-8 contain X box DNA binding sites, suggesting that bbs-8 expression may be regulated by the DAF-19 RFX-type transcription factor.