PTL-1, a microtubule-associated protein of the structural MAP2/tau family, is the sole member of this gene family in Caenorhabditis elegans. Sequence analysis of available invertebrate genomes revealed a number of single, putative tau-like genes with high similarity to ptl-1. The ptl-1 gene is expressed in a number of cells, most notably mechanosensory neurons. We examined the role of ptl-1 in C. elegans in adult neurons as well as during development. A ptl-1 knockout strain of worms exhibited an egg-hatching defect, as well as a reduced sensitivity to touch stimuli. In addition, the knockout allele ptl-1(ok621) acts as a dominant enhancer of several temperature-sensitive alleles of mec-7 and mec-12, which code the isoforms of beta-tubulin and alpha-tubulin that together form the unusual 15 protofilament microtubules involved in touch sensation. These results demonstrate for the first time a functional role for this microtubule-associated protein in nematodes and suggest that PTL-1 is involved in mechanosensation as well as some aspect of embryogenesis.

中文翻译：

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无脊椎动物微管相关蛋白 PTL-1 在秀丽隐杆线虫的机械感觉和发育中发挥作用。


PTL-1 是结构 MAP2/tau 家族的微管相关蛋白，是秀丽隐杆线虫中该基因家族的唯一成员。对现有无脊椎动物基因组的序列分析揭示了许多与 ptl-1 高度相似的单一推定 tau 样基因。 ptl-1 基因在许多细胞中表达，最显着的是机械感觉神经元。我们研究了 ptl-1 在秀丽隐杆线虫成年神经元以及发育过程中的作用。 ptl-1 敲除菌株表现出卵孵化缺陷，以及对触摸刺激的敏感性降低。此外，敲除等位基因 ptl-1(ok621) 作为 mec-7 和 mec-12 的几个温度敏感等位基因的显性增强子，编码 β-微管蛋白和 α-微管蛋白的亚型，共同形成不寻常的 15原丝微管参与触觉。这些结果首次证明了这种微管相关蛋白在线虫中的功能作用，并表明 PTL-1 参与机械感觉以及胚胎发生的某些方面。