Molecular analysis of the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene of Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

The properties of a small internal deletion mutant, E675, have been exploited in the molecular cloning of the C. elegans unc-54 gene. This mutation uniquely identifies unc-54 sequences as molecules of altered length in E675 and provides a genetic and physical marker for the active gene, its mRNA and its protein product. Cell free synthesis of the unc-54 myosin heavy chain, purification of its mRNA, restriction endonuclease mapping of clones (recombinant phages prepared using phage A1059 as vector), and the mapping of deletions E675 and E190, are discussed.