David J. Reiner

The Ral small GTPase is an essential regulator of Exocyst complex function in secretion.

This study shows RAL-1 regulates the Exocyst complex in C. elegans, affecting secretion and development through direct interactions and genetic perturbations.

Aging, dauer, and stature phenotypes are conferred by structure-directed missense mutations in the endogenous AGE-1/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit.

The paper uses structure-guided CRISPR/Cas9 to study PI3K mutations in C. elegans, revealing a novel Ras>PI3K signaling axis that affects growth, dauer formation, and lifespan.

A single-component optogenetic toolkit for programmable control of microtubule

The paper develops a single-component optogenetic toolkit to control microtubule organization and dynamics in living systems, revealing their role in lysosomal trafficking and ER signaling.

Caenorhabditis elegans Uses Canonical and Non-canonical Hippo signaling

This study identifies a conserved Hippo signaling pathway in C. elegans, showing canonical activity in epithelium and non-canonical regulation in intestine.

FGF-dependent, polarized SOS activity orchestrates directed migration of C. elegans muscle progenitors independently of canonical effectors in vivo

This study identifies FGF-dependent, polarized SOS activity as a mechanism for directing C. elegans muscle progenitor migration, independent of canonical RTK effectors.

Identifying the C. elegans vulval transcriptome

This study identifies a vulva-specific transcriptome in C. elegans using immunoprecipitation of a poly(A) binding protein, revealing gene expression patterns and validating their roles in vulval development.

Nuclear translocation of tagged endogenous ERK/MPK-1 MAP Kinase denotes a subset of activation events in C. elegans development

The paper uses CRISPR to tag ERK-1 in C. elegans and shows nuclear translocation as a marker of activation events during development.

Parallel Rap1>RalGEF>Ral and Ras signals sculpt the C. elegans nervous system

The paper identifies the roles of RalGEF>Ral, Rap1, and Ras signaling in C. elegans nervous system development, showing Ral's permissive role and Ras's instructive role in cell migration.

Engineering Threshold-Based Selection Systems

The paper engineers threshold-based selection systems in C. elegans to identify novel downstream effectors by disrupting embryonic morphogenesis with conditional CED-10/Rac activation.

Expanding the Caenorhabditis elegans auxin-inducible degron system toolkit with internal expression and degradation controls and improved modular constructs for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing

The paper introduces new tools for the auxin-inducible degron system in C. elegans, enabling conditional protein depletion through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing.

Ral signals through a MAP4 Kinase-p38 MAP kinase cascade in C. elegans cell fate patterning.

The paper identifies a Ral-dependent signaling cascade in C. elegans that transduces lower EGF doses to promote 2° vulval precursor cell fate.

Developmental fidelity imposed by the RGL-1 balanced switch mediating opposing signals

This study identifies RGL-1 as a balanced switch that coordinates opposing signals to ensure developmental fidelity in C. elegans vulval precursor cells.

C. elegans RAP-1 reinforces LET-60/Ras induction of cell fate

This study investigates the role of RAP-1 in Ras-dependent cell fate decisions in C. elegans, showing it promotes fate induction and functions alongside LET-60/Ras.