CELE_R06A4.7, R06A4.7

mes-2 encodes a SET domain-containing protein that is orthologous to the Drosophila Polycomb group protein Enhancer of zeste [E(Z)]; as a member of a Polycomb-like chromatin repressive complex with MES-3 and MES-6, MES-2 is required maternally for normal germline development and during larval development, for anteroposterior patterning; during germline development, the MES-2/MES-3/MES-6 complex is believed to be essential for maintaining repression of the X chromosome, and in transgenic animals, the complex is necessary for germline repression of repetitive transgenes; in axial patterning, the MES-2/MES-3/MES-6 complex is required in somatic tissues for maintaining homeotic gene repression, acting upstream of the Hox genes lin-39, mab-5, and egl-5, as well as the egl-5 target gene lin-32; in addition, MES-2 activity is required for normal levels and localization of MES-3 in >24-cell-stage embryos; MES-2 expression is detected in the primordial germ cells and germline nuclei throughout development, in all nuclei in early embryos, and in somatic nuclei, including those of the male tail, in L2 and L3 larvae; in the nucleus, MES-2 appears to localize to chromatin.

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