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A non-muscle myosin required for embryonic polarity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Nature volume 382, pages 455–458 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

DAUGHTER cells with distinct fates can arise through intrinsically asymmetrical divisions1. Before such divisions, factors crucial for determining cell fates become asymmetrically localized in the mother cell2,3. In Caenorhabditis elegans, PAR proteins are required for the early asymmetrical divisions that establish embryonic polarity4–8, and are asymmetrically localized in early blastomeres9,10, although the mechanism of their distribution is not known. Here we report the identification in C. elegans of a non-muscle myosin II heavy chain (designated NMY-2) by means of its interaction with the PAR-1 protein, a putative Ser/Thr protein kinase. Furthermore, injections of nmy-2 antisense RNA into ovaries of adult worms cause embryonic partitioning defects and lead to mislocalization of PAR proteins. We therefore conclude that NMY-2 is required for establishing cellular polarity in C. elegans embryos.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Genetics and Development, Cornell University, 101 Biotechnology Building, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    Su Guo & Kenneth J. Kemphues

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  1. Su Guo
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  2. Kenneth J. Kemphues
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Guo, S., Kemphues, K. A non-muscle myosin required for embryonic polarity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 382, 455–458 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382455a0

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