▪ Abstract Genetic and molecular studies of touch avoidance in the nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans have resulted in a molecular model for a mechanotransducing …

Perlecan is a major heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) of basement membranes (BMs)
and connective tissues. The core protein of perlecan is divided into five domains based on …

We have identified and characterized 95 mutations that reduce or abolish dye filling of
amphid and phasmid neurons and that have little effect on viability, fertility or movement …

To elucidate the cellular role of the heterotrimeric G protein Go, we have taken a molecular
genetic approach in Caenorhabditis elegans. We screened for suppressors of activated …

▪ Abstract Mechanosensation, the transduction of mechanical forces into a cellular
electrochemical signal, enables living organisms to detect touch; vibrations, such as sound; …

Mechanotransduction, the conversion of a mechanical stimulus into a biological response,
constitutes the basis for a plethora of fundamental biological processes such as the senses …

Basement membranes are thin, specialized extracellular matrices surrounding most tissues
in all metazoans. The compositions and functions of basement membranes have generally …

The protein output of a gene is often regulated by splicing the primary RNA transcript into
multiple mRNAs that differ in their coding exon sequences. These alternative splicing …

The function and identity of a cell is shaped by transcription factors controlling transcriptional
networks, and further shaped by RNA binding proteins controlling post-transcriptional …

Mutations in the mec-8 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans were previously shown to affect the
functions of body wall muscle and mechanosensory and chemosensory neurons. Mutations …