crt-1 encodes an ortholog of calreticulin (a calcium-binding molecularchaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum); crt-1 is dispensable forviability, but required for normal sperm development, male matingefficiency, some forms of necrotic cell death, and hermaphrodite fertilityat high temperatures (which may reflect a stress response); crt-1expression is induced by stress; CRT-1 protein binds Ca(2+) and cansuppress heat-induced protein aggregation in vitro; crt-1(bz29) andcrt-1(bz30) mutants suppress necrotic cell death induced either bymec-4(d) or by a constitutively activated Gas subunit; crt-1(bz29);crt-1's suppression of necrosis is itself partly reversed by thapsigargin,which enhances calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum;crt-1(bz30), and crt-1(jh101) mutants grow more slowly, and have havereduced broods at 25 deg. C.; crt-1(jh101) mutants are slightly shorterthan normal and have defective sperm; CRT-1 and ITR-1 serve partlyredundant functions in vivo, since crt-1;itr-1(sa73) are highly infertileand slow-growing with greatly slowed defecation; a number of proteins,notably HSP-3/4 and PDI-2/3, are over-expressed in crt-1(jh101) mutantsand crt-1(jh101);cnx-1(nr2009) double mutants.
Enables calcium ion binding activity. Involved in several processes, including IRE1-mediated unfolded protein response; determination of adult lifespan; and hemidesmosome assembly. Located in cytoplasm. Expressed in several structures, including coelomocyte; excretory system; intestine; pharynx; and sperm. Used to study Parkinson's disease. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in several diseases, including endocrine gland cancer (multiple); gastrointestinal system cancer (multiple); and hematologic cancer (multiple). Is an ortholog of human CALR (calreticulin).
Map position created from combination of previous interpolated map position (based on known location of sequence) and allele information. Therefore this is not a genetic map position based on recombination frequencies or genetic experiments. This was done on advice of the CGC.