Genes coding for members of the Sm-like (LSm) protein family are implicated in a broad range of RNA-related functions. Through a comprehensive functional study of the LSm family members, we found that lsm-1 and lsm-3 are not essential for C. elegans viability, but their perturbation, by RNAi or mutations, produces defects in development, reproduction, and motility.
The graph shows the characterization of lsm-1 and lsm-3 mutants. The measurement of the animal motility was performed by using an automated tracking system WMicrotracker One. Locomotor activity plots showing the activity of L4 worms at 20°C (1 worm/well in a 96-well microplate, eight wells per genotype were analysed). Each dot corresponds to the mean activity (measured in bins/hour) of 3 h intervals.
Both mutants exhibit reduced locomotor activity, much smaller than the wild-type N2 strain.
RNA. 2015 Sep;21(9):1544-53. doi: 10.1261/rna.052324.115. Epub 2015 Jul 6.