The LIM and POU homeobox genes ttx-3 and unc-86 act as terminal selectors in distinct cholinergic and serotonergic neuron types.
Submitted by Daniel Alfonso Colón-Ramos on
Title | The LIM and POU homeobox genes ttx-3 and unc-86 act as terminal selectors in distinct cholinergic and serotonergic neuron types. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2014 |
Authors | Zhang, F, Bhattacharya, A, Nelson, JC, Abe, N, Gordon, P, Lloret-Fernandez, C, Maicas, M, Flames, N, Mann, RS, Colón-Ramos, DA, Hobert, O |
Journal | Development |
Volume | 141 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 422-35 |
Date Published | 2014 Jan |
ISSN | 1477-9129 |
Keywords | Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Cell Differentiation, Cholinergic Neurons, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Genes, Helminth, Homeodomain Proteins, Interneurons, Larva, Neurogenesis, Neurons, Neuropeptides, POU Domain Factors, Serotonergic Neurons, Transcription Factors |
Abstract | Transcription factors that drive neuron type-specific terminal differentiation programs in the developing nervous system are often expressed in several distinct neuronal cell types, but to what extent they have similar or distinct activities in individual neuronal cell types is generally not well explored. We investigate this problem using, as a starting point, the C. elegans LIM homeodomain transcription factor ttx-3, which acts as a terminal selector to drive the terminal differentiation program of the cholinergic AIY interneuron class. Using a panel of different terminal differentiation markers, including neurotransmitter synthesizing enzymes, neurotransmitter receptors and neuropeptides, we show that ttx-3 also controls the terminal differentiation program of two additional, distinct neuron types, namely the cholinergic AIA interneurons and the serotonergic NSM neurons. We show that the type of differentiation program that is controlled by ttx-3 in different neuron types is specified by a distinct set of collaborating transcription factors. One of the collaborating transcription factors is the POU homeobox gene unc-86, which collaborates with ttx-3 to determine the identity of the serotonergic NSM neurons. unc-86 in turn operates independently of ttx-3 in the anterior ganglion where it collaborates with the ARID-type transcription factor cfi-1 to determine the cholinergic identity of the IL2 sensory and URA motor neurons. In conclusion, transcription factors operate as terminal selectors in distinct combinations in different neuron types, defining neuron type-specific identity features. |
DOI | 10.1242/dev.099721 |
Alternate Journal | Development |
PubMed ID | 24353061 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC3879818 |
Grant List | R01 NS039996 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01 NS070644 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01 NS076558 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01NS039996-05 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01NS050266-03 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01NS070644 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States R01NS076558 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States / / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States |