CELE_F29F11.1, F29F11.1

sqv-4 encodes a UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase, biochemically active in vitro, that is required for cytokinesis of one-cell embryos and for vulval morphogenesis; SQV-4 is orthologous to Drosophila SUGARLESS, human UGDH (OMIM:603370), and zebrafish JEKYLL; SQV-4 is expressed in many cell types, notably oocytes and uterine, seam, pharyngeal, and spermathecal cells, with expression being prominent in 14 of the 22 vulval nuclei of late L4 larvae; the common requirement for SQV-4 in both cytokinesis and morphogenesis may be to promote filling an extracellular space with hygroscopic proteoglycans (either in the eggshell, or underneath the L4 cuticle), which in turn may cause the space to fill with fluid.

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