The C. elegans
gon-2 gene is required for the post-embryonic mitotic cell divisions of the gonadal precursor cells. A single major transcript of approximately 6.7 kb is derived from the
gon-2 locus. This mRNA encodes a protein related to the TRP family of cation channels and has a high degree of similarity to several vertebrate genes, including melastatin. Mutant alleles of
gon-2 affect evolutionarily conserved amino acid residues. Northern analyses suggest that
gon-2 expression is not limited to gonadal tissues.