CED9 (gene)

Ced9 is the gene in the C. elegans genome that codes for a protein that inhibits/represses apoptosis. The human version of the gene is called Bcl-2. The protein prevents the release of cytochrome c in the membrane of mitochondria.

Discovery

Robert Horvitz initial work with C. elegans isolated 3 different mutants with gene alterations that prevented programmed cell death. He identified the mutant genes as Ced3, Ced4, and Ced9 genes; each of the genes could independently cause cell immortality. He concluded that these three genes must act in the same pathway.

References

• http://www.wormbase.org/db/gene/gene?name=WBGene00000423;class=Gene
• The Cell: A Molecular Approach, Fifth Edition, by Geoffrey M. Cooper and Robert E. Hausman, published by ASM Press and Sinauer Associates.