srf-5 was identified as a mutation that alters the surface antigenicity of the cuticle in C. elegans; srf-5 mutations show altered binding to antibodies raised against the cuticles of wild-type worms, and lectins like wheat germ agglutinin; srf-5 mutants are resistant to infection by the nematode-specific pathogen, Microbacterium nematophilum and do not show the tail-swelling response to infection; srf-5 mutants also show an altered response in the form of increased susceptibility to nematophagous fungi.
Organism
Caenorhabditis elegans
Automated Description
Expressed in intestine; pharynx; rectal valve cell; and seam cell. Used to study bacterial infectious disease.