cog for Connection of Gonad defective, adults are Egl with abnormal vulval morphology and abnormal connection between uterus and vulva, males are sperm transfer defective with abnormal connection between the vas deferens and the proctodeum
cog-1 encodes the C. elegans ortholog of the vertebrate Nkx6 homeodomain proteins; cog-1 activity is required for multiple aspects of reproductive system development, including connection of uterus to the vulva and vulval cell specification, as well as for specification of left/right asymmetry in the ASE taste receptor sensory neurons where cog-1 acts in ASER to suppress the ASEL cell fate; cog-1 expression in ASEL is negatively regulated by the lsy-6 miRNA; a cog-1::gfp reporter fusion is expressed in neurons and in the hermaphrodite vulva and uterus; in males, cog-1::gfp expression is seen in proctodeal cells and occasionally in the rectal Rep cells and P11.pp progeny.
Enables DNA-binding transcription factor binding activity. Involved in several processes, including determination of left/right symmetry; neuron development involved in amphid sensory organ development; and regulation of gene expression. Predicted to be located in nucleus. Expressed in several structures, including body ganglion; egg-laying apparatus; head neurons; male-specific anatomical entity; and tail ganglion. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in spastic ataxia 8. Is an ortholog of human NKX6-1 (NK6 homeobox 1) and NKX6-2 (NK6 homeobox 2).