Caenorhabditis elegans
nfi-1 belongs to the Nuclear Factor I (NFI) family of transcription factors known to regulate metazoan gene expression and development. We showed previously that loss of
nfi-1 in worms results in multiple behavioral defects; slower pharyngeal pumping rate, impaired egg laying, defective motility, and a shortened life span. Here, we generated cell-type specific transgenic worms to determine the cells in which
nfi-1 must be expressed to rescue the pharyngeal pumping defect. Expression of
nfi-1 from the pharyngeal muscle-specific
myo-2 promoter, but not from the F25B3.3 or
myo-3 promoters, rescued the pharyngeal pumping defect of
nfi-1 worms. Surprisingly,
myo-2-driven
nfi-1 expression also rescued the shortened lifespan of
nfi-1 worms, demonstrating a possible cell-autonomous role of
nfi-1 in pharyngeal muscle for both phenotypes. We propose some relationships between the pharyngeal pumping and lifespan phenotypes and potential mechanisms of
nfi-1 function. Developmental Dynamics 237:2100-2107, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.