Transcription regulatory networks in Caenorhabditis elegans

Gene

Public Gene Name

hmp-2  

Sequence Name

K05C4.6  

WB ID

WBGene00001979  

Description

hmp-2 encodes a beta-catenin; HMP-2 activity is required during embryonic development for cell adhesion at adherens junctions, cell migration, and body morphogenesis; as a beta-catenin, HMP-2 likely functions solely as part of a cadherin-catenin complex, as in yeast two-hybrid assays, HMP-2 is the only C. elegans beta-catenin that binds HMP-1/alpha-catenin and HMR-1/cadherin; additionally, in the embryo, HMP-2 co-localizes to sites of epithelial cell contacts with HMP-1 and HMR-1/cadherin; however, despite its normal role in embryonic cell adhesion, HMP-2 can activate transcription and when overexpressed in vivo, can partially rescue vulval defects produced by loss of BAR-1/beta-catenin, suggesting that HMP-2 has retained the ability to interact with the Wnt signaling pathway.