fem-1;fer-15;lin-35

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

Retinoblastoma-like protein homolog lin-35

Locus: CELE_C32F10.2

Wormbase description: lin-35 encodes the C. elegans retinoblastoma protein (Rb) ortholog; lin-35 was first identified in screens for synthetic multivulva (synMuv) genes and as a class B synMuv gene, functions redundantly with class A genes to antagonize Ras signaling and negatively regulate vulval development; in addition, loss of lin-35 activity results in enhanced RNA interference; lin-35 activity is also required redundantly with: 1) pha-1 and ubc-18 for early steps in pharyngeal morphogenesis, 2) fzr-1 for normal patterns of postembryonic proliferation, 3) xnp-1 for somatic gonad development, and 4) psa-1 for fertility and embryonic and larval development; on its own, lin-35 is also required for wild-type levels of fertility; LIN-35 is expressed broadly in embryos and L1 larvae, but in later larvae and adults is detected in vulval precursor cells and their descendants as well as a subset of head and tail cells.