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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Identification of Enhancer-Promoter Contacts in Embryoid Bodies by Quantitative Chromosome Conformation Capture (4C)
Published on: April 29, 2020
CYK-4/GAP provides a localized cue to initiate anteroposterior polarity upon fertilization
Noah Jenkins1, Jennifer R Saam, Susan E Mango
1Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Abstract:
The Caenorhabditis elegans anteroposterior axis is established in response to fertilization by sperm. Here we present evidence that RhoA, the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor ECT-2, and the Rho guanosine triphosphatase-activating protein CYK-4 modulate myosin light-chain activity to create a gradient of actomyosin, which establishes the anterior domain. CYK-4 is enriched within sperm, and paternally donated CYK-4 is required for polarity. These data suggest that CYK-4 provides a molecular link between fertilization and polarity establishment in the one-cell embryo. Orthologs of CYK-4 are expressed in sperm of other species, which suggests that this cue may be evolutionarily conserved.
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