Conditionalnmy-1andnmy-2alleles establish that non-muscle myosins are required for lateC. elegansembryonic elongation

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe elongation ofC. elegansembryos allows examination of mechanical interactions between adjacent tissues. Muscle contractions during late elongation induce the remodelling of epidermal circumferential actin filaments through mechanotransduction. We investigated the possible role of the non-muscle myosins NMY-1 and NMY-2 in this process usingnmy-1andnmy-2thermosensitive alleles. Our findings suggest these myosins act redundantly in late elongation, and that they are involved in the multi-step process of epidermal remodeling. When inactivated, NMY-1 was seen to form protein aggregates.