EGL-13/SoxD specifies distinct O2 and CO2 sensory neuron fates in Caenorhabditis elegans
| Autor: | Vaida Juozaityte, Manuel Zimmer, Alba Redo Riveiro, Jakob Gramstrup Petersen, Roger Pocock, Lisa Traunmüller, Ingrid Hums, Teresa Rojo Romanos |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Cancer Research
lcsh:QH426-470 Sensory Receptor Cells Mutant Sensory system Biology Bioinformatics medicine.disease_cause 03 medical and health sciences Behavioral Neuroscience 0302 clinical medicine Developmental Neuroscience Transcription (biology) Genetics medicine Animals Caenorhabditis elegans Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins Molecular Biology Transcription factor Genetics (clinical) Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences Mutation Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets Carbon Dioxide biology.organism_classification Sensory neuron Cell biology Oxygen lcsh:Genetics medicine.anatomical_structure Receptors Aryl Hydrocarbon Molecular Neuroscience 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Transcription Factors Research Article Neuroscience |
| Zdroj: | PLoS Genetics PLoS Genetics, Vol 9, Iss 5, p e1003511 (2013) |
| ISSN: | 1553-7404 |
| Popis: | Animals harbor specialized neuronal systems that are used for sensing and coordinating responses to changes in oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In Caenorhabditis elegans, the O2/CO2 sensory system comprises functionally and morphologically distinct sensory neurons that mediate rapid behavioral responses to exquisite changes in O2 or CO2 levels via different sensory receptors. How the diversification of the O2- and CO2-sensing neurons is established is poorly understood. We show here that the molecular identity of both the BAG (O2/CO2-sensing) and the URX (O2-sensing) neurons is controlled by the phylogenetically conserved SoxD transcription factor homolog EGL-13. egl-13 mutant animals fail to fully express the distinct terminal gene batteries of the BAG and URX neurons and, as such, are unable to mount behavioral responses to changes in O2 and CO2. We found that the expression of egl-13 is regulated in the BAG and URX neurons by two conserved transcription factors—ETS-5(Ets factor) in the BAG neurons and AHR-1(bHLH factor) in the URX neurons. In addition, we found that EGL-13 acts in partially parallel pathways with both ETS-5 and AHR-1 to direct BAG and URX neuronal fate respectively. Finally, we found that EGL-13 is sufficient to induce O2- and CO2-sensing cell fates in some cellular contexts. Thus, the same core regulatory factor, egl-13, is required and sufficient to specify the distinct fates of O2- and CO2-sensing neurons in C. elegans. These findings extend our understanding of mechanisms of neuronal diversification and the regulation of molecular factors that may be conserved in higher organisms. Author Summary During the development of an organism, certain neurons are programmed to perform specific tasks. For example, motor neurons coordinate locomotion and sensory neurons recognize specific environmental cues. The molecular mechanisms that generate specific neuronal classes are not fully understood. We investigated mechanisms that control the development of two distinct classes of neurons that are required for the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to sense the respiratory gases O2 or CO2. In this study, we identified and characterized a conserved transcription factor, egl-13, that is required for the development of both of these classes of neurons. egl-13 is related to the SoxD family of transcription factor proteins in vertebrates. We found that egl-13 controls the production of specific proteins that provide these cells with the ability to sense both O2 and CO2. Further, we found that egl-13 works in conjunction with two additional factors, ahr-1 and ets-5, to regulate this developmental decision. This work provides new insight into how transcriptional regulatory networks specify different but related neuronal identities and provides a platform for future studies to understand how neuronal diversity is generated. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|