The Caenorhabditis elegans unc-31 gene affects multiple nervous system-controlled functions
Avery, L.; Bargmann, C.I.; Horvitz, H.R.
Genetics 134(2): 455-464
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-6731 PMID: 8325482 Document Number: 420252
We have devised a method for selecting Caenorhabditis elegans mutants that execute feeding motions in the absence of food. One mutation isolated in this way is an allele of the gene unc-31, first discovered by S. Brenner in 1974, because of its effects on locomotion. We find that strong unc-31 mutations cause defects in four functions controlled by the nervous system. Mutant worms are lethargic, feed constitutively, are defective in egg-laying and produce dauer larvae that fail to recover. We discuss two extreme models to explain this pleiotropy: either unc-31 affects one or a few neurons that coordinately control several different functions, or it affects many neurons that independently control different functions.