Previous work showed that C. elegans
gon-14 is required for gonadogenesis. Here we report that
gon-14 encodes a protein with similarity to LIN-15B, a class B synMuv protein. An extensive region of GON-14 contains blocks of sequence similarity to transposases of the hAT superfamily, but key residues are not conserved, suggesting a distant relationship. GON-14 also contains a putative THAP DNA-binding domain. A rescuing
gon-14::GON-14::VENUS reporter is broadly expressed during development, and localizes to the nucleus. Strong loss-of-function and predicted null
gon-14 alleles have pleiotropic defects, including multivulval (Muv) defects and temperature-sensitive larval arrest. Although the
gon-14 Muv defect is not enhanced by synMuv mutations,
gon-14 interacts genetically with class B and class C synMuv genes, including
lin-35/Rb,
let-418/Mi-2beta, and
trr-1/TRRAP. The
gon-14; synMuv double mutants arrest as larvae when grown under conditions supporting development to adulthood for the respective single mutants. The
gon-14 larval arrest is suppressed by loss of
mes-2/E(Z),
mes-6/ESC, or
mes-4, which encodes a SET domain protein. Additionally,
gon-14 affects expression of
pgl-1 and
lag-2, two genes regulated by the synMuv genes. We suggest that
gon-14 functions with class B and C synMuv genes to promote larval growth, in part by antagonizing MES-2,3,6/ESC-E(z) and MES-4.