CELE_T10H9.2, T10H9.2

scd-2 encodes the homolog of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) (OMIM:105590, involved in the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans); the ALK family of receptor tyrosine kinases belong to the insulin receptor superfamily; scd-2 was initially identified in a naturally occuring desert oasis strain of C. elegans that fails to respond to the dauer pheromone at 25 degrees centigrade, but does so at a higher temperature; genetic interactions of scd-2 with several genes in the TGF-beta pathway including daf-7, daf-8 and daf-4 indicate that scd-2 acts in parallel to or converges with this pathway to regulate dauer formation via activation of the daf-3 transcription factor; further, genetic interaction studies indicate that the genes hen-1 (ortholog of the ALK ligand), soc-1 (RTK multi-adaptor protein related to DOS/Gab) and sma-5 (similar to human ERK5/MAP kinase 7) act along with scd-2 RTK in a chemosensory transduction pathway that converges with the TGF-beta pathway to affect the dauer decision.

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