fem-1;fer-15;ins-7

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

INSulin related;Probable insulin-like peptide beta-type 4

Locus: CELE_ZK1251.2

Wormbase description: ins-7 encodes an insulin/IGF-1-like peptide; INS-7 is one of 40 insulin-like peptides in C. elegans; INS-7 likely functions as an agonist for the DAF-2 insulin/IGF-1 receptor, as loss of ins-7 activity via RNAi results in: 1) a significantly increased lifespan that is not further extended in long-lived daf-2 mutant animals, and 2) an increased frequency of dauer formation in animals containing an incompletely penetrant daf-2 mutation; an ins-7 promoter fusion is expressed in amphid sensory neurons, labial neurons, the nerve ring, and ventral cord and tail neurons; ins-7 expression is positively regulated by DAF-2-mediated insulin signaling, suggesting that a positive feedback loop involving INS-7 may amplify DAF-2 pathway activity.