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First published online 14 June 2006
doi: 10.1242/dev.02447

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The C. elegans MELK ortholog PIG-1 regulates cell size asymmetry and daughter cell fate in asymmetric neuroblast divisions

Shaun Cordes¹, C. Andrew Frank^1,* and Gian Garriga^1,2,

¹ Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
² Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Author for correspondence (e-mail: garriga{at}berkeley.edu)

Accepted 16 May 2006

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, neurons are generated from asymmetric divisions in which a mother cell divides to produce daughters that differ in fate. Here, we demonstrate that the gene pig-1 regulates the asymmetric divisions of neuroblasts that divide to produce an apoptotic cell and either a neural precursor or a neuron. In pig-1 mutants, these neuroblasts divide to produce daughters that are more equal in size, and their apoptotic daughters are transformed into their sisters, leading to the production of extra neurons. PIG-1 is orthologous to MELK, a conserved member of the polarity-regulating PAR-1/Kin1/SAD-1 family of serine/threonine kinases. Although MELK has been implicated in regulating the cell cycle, our data suggest that PIG-1, like other PAR-1 family members, regulates cell polarity.

Key words: Asymmetric cell division, Neuroblast, MELK, PAR-1, PIG-1, HAM-1, Cell polarity, Cell fate, Programmed cell death, Apoptosis

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