title: eagle is required for the specification of serotonin neurons and other neuroblast 7-3 progeny in the Drosophila CNS.
abstract: During development of the Drosophila nerve cord, neuroblast 7-3 gives rise to a pair of mitotic sister serotonin neurons in each hemisegment. Here we show that the zinc finger gene eagle, which is expressed in neuroblast 7-3, is essential for specifying the fate of serotonin neurons. We find that loss-of-function eagle mutations produce an unusual differential phenotype with respect to the sister serotonin cells and that eagle is necessary for the maintenance of engrailed and zfh-2 expression in the serotonin neurons. We present a model that uniquely identifies all progeny neurons in the neuroblast 7-3 lineage based on the expression of specific molecular markers, position within the nerve cord and the effect of eagle loss-of-function mutations. Although serotonin is an important neurotransmitter conserved throughout the animal kingdom, we show that hypomorphic alleles of eagle can produce viable adults that have a dramatic reduction in the number of serotonin-producing neurons.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio, 78249, USA. mlundell@lonestar.utsa.edu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lundell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hirsh
mesh_terms: D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase / Q000032:analysis; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009154:Mutation; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D050809:POU Domain Factors; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D012701:Serotonin / Q000032:analysis*; D014157:Transcription Factors
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D050809:POU Domain Factors; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C098694:eg protein, Drosophila; C106185:engrailed homeobox proteins; C104121:nub protein, Drosophila; C077729:Zfh2 protein, Drosophila; D012701:Serotonin; D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase