eat-2;flr-4;rrf-3

Neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit eat-2

Locus: CELE_Y48B6A.4

Wormbase description: eat-2 encodes a ligand-gated ion channel subunit most closely related to the non-alpha-subunits of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR); EAT-2 functions postsynaptically in pharyngeal muscle to regulate the rate of pharyngeal pumping; eat-2 is also required for normal life span and defecation; a functional EAT-2::GFP fusion protein localizes to two small dots near the junction of pharyngeal muscles pm4 and pm5, which is the site of the posterior-most MC motor neuron processes and the MC synapse; eat-2 genetically interacts with eat-18, which encodes a predicted novel transmembrane protein expressed in pharyngeal muscle and required for proper function of pharyngeal nicotonic receptors.

Serine/threonine-protein kinase flr-4

Locus: CELE_F09B12.6

Wormbase description: flr-4 encodes a predicted Ser/Thr protein kinase that affects sensitivity to fluoride ion, growth, defecation cycle periods, dauer formation; expressed in the intestine, the AUA neurons, the pharyngeal isthmus, and in the excretory canal in larval stages.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase Family

Locus: CELE_F10B5.7

Wormbase description: rrf-3 encodes an RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) homolog that inhibits somatic RNAi, and thus promotes activity of repeated genes (e.g., multicopy transgenic arrays); the effect of RRF-3 on RNAi is opposite to that of RRF-1 (which stimulates somatic RNAi), which might arise from competition by RRF-3 with RRF-1 or EGO-1 in RNAi formation; rrf-3(allele) or rrf-3(allele2) mutants are hypersensitive to somatic RNAi, and conversely suppress the activity of an integrated rol6 (su1006) transgene.