GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00000898
Main curator
Martin
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
C. elegans - copulatory plug
Trait State in Taxon B
C. elegans - no copulatory plug
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
-
Synonyms
roundworm; Rhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans (Maupas, 1900); Rhabditis elegans Maupas, 1900
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... s; Eukaryota; Opisthokonta; Metazoa; Eumetazoa; Bilateria; Protostomia; Ecdysozoa; Nematoda; Chromadorea; Rhabditida; Rhabditina; Rhabditomorpha; Rhabditoidea; Rhabditidae; Peloderinae; Caenorhabditis
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon A Description
C. elegans - several wild isolates
Taxon B
Common Name
-
Synonyms
roundworm; Rhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans (Maupas, 1900); Rhabditis elegans Maupas, 1900
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... s; Eukaryota; Opisthokonta; Metazoa; Eumetazoa; Bilateria; Protostomia; Ecdysozoa; Nematoda; Chromadorea; Rhabditida; Rhabditina; Rhabditomorpha; Rhabditoidea; Rhabditidae; Peloderinae; Caenorhabditis
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon B Description
C. elegans - N2
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Generic Gene Name
-
Synonyms
-
String
-
Sequence Similarities
-
GO - Molecular Function
-
GO - Biological Process
-
GO - Cellular Component
-
UniProtKB
GenebankID or UniProtKB
Presumptive Null
Yes
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Insertion Size
1-10 kb
Molecular Details of the Mutation
insertion of transposable element in an exon
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Palopoli MF; Rockman MV; TinMaung A; Ramsay C; Curwen S; Aduna A; Laurita J; Kruglyak L
Abstract
Heritable variation is the raw material for evolutionary change, and understanding its genetic basis is one of the central problems in modern biology. We investigated the genetic basis of a classic phenotypic dimorphism in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Males from many natural isolates deposit a copulatory plug after mating, whereas males from other natural isolates?including the standard wild-type strain (N2 Bristol) that is used in most research laboratories?do not deposit plugs. The copulatory plug is a gelatinous mass that covers the hermaphrodite vulva, and its deposition decreases the mating success of subsequent males. We show that the plugging polymorphism results from the insertion of a retrotransposon into an exon of a novel mucin-like gene, plg-1, whose product is a major structural component of the copulatory plug. The gene is expressed in a subset of secretory cells of the male somatic gonad, and its loss has no evident effects beyond the loss of male mate-guarding. Although C. elegans descends from an obligate-outcrossing, male?female ancestor, it occurs primarily as self-fertilizing hermaphrodites. The reduced selection on male?male competition associated with the origin of hermaphroditism may have permitted the global spread of a loss-of-function mutation with restricted pleiotropy.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
No matches found.
EXTERNAL LINKS
COMMENTS
@TE; WormBase ID: WBGene00004041
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