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HEREDITAS(Beijing) ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (12): 1261-1268.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2014.1261

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Screening and SNP mapping of copper-resistant mutations in C. elegans

Shaojuan Song1, Yaping Guo2, Xueyao Zhang1, Jianzhen Zhang1, Enbo Ma1   

  1. 1. Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China;
    2. School of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
  • Received:2014-05-12 Online:2014-12-20 Published:2014-12-20

Abstract:

Copper plays critical roles in biological system; however, it is toxic in excess. To identify novel genes involved in copper metabolism, we performed a whole genome-wide genetic screen in C. elegans model organism to search for mutants which are resistant to excessive copper. Wild type (N2) L4 worms were mutagenized with ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS), and the F2 progeny were screened on culture medium with excess copper. Two copper-resistant mutants, ms1 and ms2, were recovered from the screening of 100 000 hyploid genomes. No obvious developmental defects were observed in ms1 and ms2 mutants, and they were able to grow into adults on screen medium plate, but N2 worms arrested in L1 stage. Results of backcross test suggested that copper-resistant phenotype in ms1 may be controlled by a single recessive gene, but probably there are mutations in multiple genes in ms2, as no copper resistant worms could be found in F2 progeny when ms2 mutants were backcrossed with N2 worms. To determine the mutation positions of ms1, we employed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping. Our mapping results indicated that ms1 mutation is on chromosome II (LGII). By analysis of 8 SNP markers from -18 to 23 on LGII, we found that ms1 mutation is at approximately LGII:-6. Further study on ms1 mutants will provide insights into copper metabolism and its regulation.

Key words: Caenorhabditis elegans, forward genetic screen, copper resistance, mutant, SNP mapping