| First Author | Cho JH | Year | 2000 |
| Journal | J Cell Sci | Volume | 113 ( Pt 22) |
| Pages | 3947-58 | PubMed ID | 11058082 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:66257 | Mgi Id | MGI:1928196 |
| Doi | 10.1242/jcs.113.22.3947 | Citation | Cho JH, et al. (2000) Calsequestrin, a calcium sequestering protein localized at the sarcoplasmic reticulum, is not essential for body-wall muscle function in caenorhabditis elegans. J Cell Sci 113(Pt 22):3947-58 |
| abstractText | Calsequestrin is the major calcium-binding protein of cardiac and skeletal muscles whose function is to sequester Ca(2+ )in the lumen of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Here we describe the identification and functional characterization of a C. elegans calsequestrin gene (csq-1). CSQ-1 shows moderate similarity (50% similarity, 30% identity) to rabbit skeletal calsequestrin. Unlike mammals, which have two different genes encoding cardiac and fast-twitch skeletal muscle isoforms, csq-1 is the only calsequestrin gene in the C. elegans genome. We show that csq-1 is highly expressed in the body-wall muscles, beginning in mid-embryogenesis and maintained through the adult stage. In body-wall muscle cells, CSQ-1 is localized to sarcoplasmic membranes surrounding sarcomeric structures, in the regions where ryanodine receptors (UNC-68) are located. Mutation in UNC-68 affects CSQ-1 localization, suggesting that the two possibly interact in vivo. Genetic analyses of chromosomal deficiency mutants deleting csq-1 show that CSQ-1 is not essential for initiation of embryonic muscle formation and contraction. Furthermore, double-stranded RNA injection resulted in animals completely lacking CSQ-1 in body-wall muscles with no observable defects in locomotion. These findings suggest that although CSQ-1 is one of the major calcium-binding proteins in the body-wall muscles of C. elegans, it is not essential for body-wall muscle formation and contraction. |
