Transcription regulatory networks in Caenorhabditis elegans

Gene

Public Gene Name

xnp-1  

Sequence Name

B0041.7  

WB ID

WBGene00006961  

Description

xnp-1 encodes an ATP-dependent DNA helicase of the SNF2 family that is orthologous to human XNP/ATR-X, which is associated with a number of X-linked mental retardation syndromes; in C. elegans, xnp-1 activity is required at high temperatures for embryogenesis, somatic gonad development, fertility, and vulval morphogenesis; in addition, animals doubly mutant for xnp-1 and lin-35/Rb, hpl-2/HP1, or nucleosome remodelling and histone deacetylase (NuRD) complex members such as lin-53 and let-418, display larval arrest with growth cessation but continued cell proliferation; xnp-1 is also required, with lin-35/Rb and hpl-2/HP1, for proper regulation of transgene expression; xnp-1 mRNA, detectable in embryos and the germline by in situ hybridization, is expressed at highest levels in embryos with decreasing levels seen in successive larval stages; xnp-1 transcriptional reporter fusions exhibit strong expression beginning at mid-embryogenesis but fading by embryonic morphogenesis; at hatching, expression is observed in all dividing cells including the P lineage, and at later larval stages expression is observed in the vulval precursor cells.