fem-1;fer-15;lys-8

Sex-determining protein fem-1

Locus: CELE_F35D6.1

Wormbase description: The fem-1 gene encodes an ankyrin repeat-containing protein orthologous to human FEM1A and is required for masculinization of germline and somatic tissues; FEM-1 is widely expressed and functions as a second messenger in the sex determination pathway, connecting the membrane protein TRA-2A to the transcription factor TRA-1A which it negatively regulates; FEM-1 may also play a role in apoptosis, as it is a substrate for the CED-3 protease and can induce apoptosis when overexpressed in mammalian cells.

No gene information for fer-15

LYSozyme

Locus: CELE_C17G10.5

Wormbase description: lys-8 encodes a putative lysozyme required for normal longevity, probably because it prevents killing of C. elegans by bacteria infecting its gut; LYS-8 is expressed in intestine up to the terminal bulb of the pharynx, as well as in g1 and g2 pharyngeal gland cells; LYS-8 expression is induced by infection with Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or (weakly) by Microbacterium nematophilum; LYS-8 expression is promoted by DBL-1, TIR-1 and NSY-1; lys-8 transcripts are increased by both DBL-1 and SMA-2 (though not strongly affected by LON-2), perhaps reflecting a general role of the DBL-1 signalling pathway in activating intestinal genes and susceptibility of dbl-1 mutants to infection; lys-8 transcripts are repressed by DAF-2 (and thus presumably increased by DAF-16), and lys-8(RNAi) animals display reduced lifespan; induction of LSY-8 by any of three different Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, S. marcescens, or P. aeruginosa) requires DAF-16, DBL-1, and NSY-1; LSY-8 and its paralogs (LYS-1 to -7 and LYS-10) are more similar to lysozymes from the amoeboid protozoon Entamoeba histolytica than to more familiar ones from vertebrates.