A Gain-of-Function Allele of cbp-1 , the Caenorhabditis elegans Ortholog of the Mammalian CBP/p300 Gene, Causes an Increase in Histone Acetyltransferase Activity and Antagonism of Activated Ras

Abstract

ABSTRACT An RTK-Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway plays a key role in vulval induction in Caenorhabditis elegans . We have previously carried out screens for suppressors of activated Ras to identify factors that play critical roles in the regulation of the pathway. ku258 was isolated as a semidominant allele that suppresses the Multivulva phenotype caused by activated let-60 ras . Our genetic and molecular analyses indicate that ku258 is a gain-of-function allele resulting from two point mutations in the C. elegans homolog of the transcriptional coactivator p300/CBP, cbp-1 . Genetic data also suggest that cbp-1 may act downstream of the Ras signaling pathway, but not primarily downstream of the Wnt signaling pathway, to negatively regulate vulval cell fate specification. cbp-1 may function in concert with LIN-1, an Ets transcription factor family member that is one of the targets of MAPK. In vitro histone acetylation assays have revealed that together, the two point mutations cause a sevenfold increase in the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity of recombinant CBP-1. To our knowledge, this is the only such HAT activity mutation isolated in a CBP/p300 family protein, and this mutation may define a negative role of the HAT activity in antagonizing Ras function in a specific developmental event.