[C.elegansII] e2123ts : at 25C zygotic embryonic lethal, pharynx fails to undergo late differentiation and morphogenesis; early pharynx development normal. OA>5: e2468 (unconditional), t1001ts,e2286 (weak, 38% hatch and arrest), t1002 (weak,some survival to late larval arrest), etc.See also extragenic suppressors sup-35, sup-36, sup-37. Cloned: 2.2kb embryonic transcript, encodes 491 aa predicted protein with some similarity to bZIP transcription factors; pha-1:lacZ expressed transiently in all pharyngeal precursor cells. [Granato et al. 1994; GE]
pha-1 encodes a novel protein that contains a DUF1114 domain of unknown function found in a number of other nematode proteins; during embryonic development, pha-1 functions redundantly with class B SynMuv genes such as lin-35/Rb and efl-1 to effect pharyngeal morphogenesis; in regulating pharyngeal development, PHA-1 also appears to act with the UBC-18 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme; a PHA-1::GFP reporter is broadly expressed during embryonic development and localizes to the cytoplasm; expression is also observed in early- and late-larval-stage animals, as well as adults, although postembryonic expression is generally weaker than that seen in the embryo.
Predicted to enable alpha-(1->3)-fucosyltransferase activity. Involved in embryonic digestive tract morphogenesis; nematode larval development; and reproduction. Located in cytoplasm. Expressed in body wall muscle cell and pharynx.