Transcription regulatory networks in Caenorhabditis elegans

Gene

Public Gene Name

fos-1  

Sequence Name

F29G9.4  

WB ID

WBGene00001345  

Description

fos-1 encodes two basic region-leucine zipper (bZip) transcription factors, FOS-1A and FOS-1B, that are the sole C. elegans orthologs of the fos bZip transcription factor family; during hermaphrodite development, FOS-1A activity is required cell autonomously in the gonadal anchor cell for basement-membrane removal and subsequent anchor cell invasion of the vulval epithelium; in addition, fos-1 activity is also required for proper vulval and uterine development, fertility, and oogenesis; in late-L3 larvae, a FOS-1A translational fusion protein is expressed at high levels in the anchor cell nucleus and at lower levels in uterine cells, while a FOS-1B reporter is expressed at low levels in the anchor cell, uterine, and vulval cells; transcriptional reporters additionally reveal that fos-1b is expressed in most cells of late L3 larvae; in affecting anchor cell invasion, FOS-1A appears to act by regulating the expression of three AC-expressed genes: cdh-3/cadherin, him-4/hemicentin, and zmp-1/matrix metalloproteinase, which likely function together to promote anchor cell invasion.