PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Hikmat Al-Hashimi AU - Travis Chiarelli AU - Erik A. Lundquist AU - Matthew Buechner TI - Novel <em>exc</em> Genes Involved in Formation of the Tubular Excretory Canals of <em>C. elegans</em> AID - 10.1101/359653 DP - 2018 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 359653 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/30/359653.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/06/30/359653.full AB - Regulation of luminal diameter is critical to the function of small single-celled tubes, of which the seamless tubular excretory canals of C. elegans provide a tractable genetic model. Mutations in several sets of genes exhibit the Exc phenotype, in which canal luminal growth is visibly altered. Here, a focused reverse genomic screen of genes highly expressed in the canals found 24 genes that significantly affect luminal outgrowth or diameter. These genes encode novel proteins as well as highly conserved proteins involved in processes including gene expression, cytoskeletal regulation, vesicular movement, and transmembrane transport. In addition, two genes act as suppressors on a pathway of conserved genes whose products mediate vesicle movement from early to recycling endosomes. The results provide new tools for understanding the integration of cytoplasmic structure and physiology in forming and maintaining the narrow diameter of single-cell tubules.