alg-2;daf-2

Protein argonaute

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Locus: CELE_T07D3.7

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Wormbase description: alg-2 encodes a PAZ and PIWI-domain containing protein that is a member of the highly conserved eukaryotic RDE-1/AGO1/PIWI family of proteins that regulate posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS); ALG-2 functions with ALG-1 to control specific developmental timing events by positively regulating expression of small temporal RNAs (stRNAs) encoded by lin-4 and let-7; ALG-2 and ALG-1 are also required for RNAi in the germ line, although they are not required for RNAi in the soma; ALG-2 is expressed in nearly all cells from embryogenesis through adulthood and localizes to the cytoplasm.

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Insulin-like receptor subunit beta;Receptor protein-tyrosine kinase;hypothetical protein

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Locus: CELE_Y55D5A.5

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Wormbase description: daf-2 encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is the C. elegans insulin/IGF receptor ortholog; DAF-2 activity is required for a number of processes in C. elegans, including embryonic and larval development, formation of the developmentally arrested dauer larval stage (diapause), larval developmental timing, adult longevity, reproduction, fat storage, salt chemotaxis learning, and stress resistance, including response to high temperature, oxidative stress, and bacterial infection; DAF-2 signals through a conserved PI 3-kinase pathway to negatively regulate the activity of DAF-16, a Forkhead-related transcription factor, by inducing its phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion; in addition, DAF-2 negatively regulates the nuclear localization, and hence transcriptional activity, of SKN-1 in intestinal nuclei; amongst the 38 predicted insulin-like molecules in C. elegans, genetic and microarray analyses suggest that at least DAF-28, INS-1, and INS-7 are likely DAF-2 ligands; genetic mosaic and tissue-specific promoter studies indicate that daf-2 can function cell nonautonomously and within multiple cell types to influence dauer formation and adult lifespan, likely by regulating the production of secondary endocrine signals that coordinate growth and longevity throughout the animal; temporal analysis of daf-2 function indicates that daf-2 regulates lifespan, reproduction, and diapause independently, at distinct times during the animal's life cycle.

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