CELE_B0464.7, pna-1, 3J557, B0464.7

baf-1 encodes a small, novel protein that is highly conserved amongst metazoa; BAF-1 binds double-stranded DNA nonspecifically in vitro and is essential for proper chromosome segregation, embryogenesis, and gonad development in vivo; biochemical and phenotypic analyses suggest that BAF-1 functions as an intramolecular bridge that mediates nuclear assembly and chromatin capture by the reforming nuclear envelope; by homology with mammalian BAF proteins, BAF-1 is also predicted to play a role in regulating gene expression and higher-order chromatin structure; during interphase, BAF-1 colocalizes with LMN-1/lamin to the nuclear envelope and nuclear interior; during mitosis, BAF-1 is present in a more punctate pattern, localizing near condensing chromatin and maintaining this localization through telophase; BAF-1 localization during nuclear assembly requires the activity of LMN-1/lamin, EMR-1/emerin, and LEM-2/MAN1; baf-1 mutations also exhibit hypersensitivity to DNA damage and baf-1 exhibits genetics interactions with lem-3, suggesting that these two genes function together to regulate the DNA damage response.

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