title: Sequoia, a tramtrack-related zinc finger protein, functions as a pan-neural regulator for dendrite and axon morphogenesis in Drosophila.
abstract: Morphological complexity of neurons contributes to their functional complexity. How neurons generate different dendritic patterns is not known. We identified the sequoia mutant from a previous screen for dendrite mutants. Here we report that Sequoia is a pan-neural nuclear protein containing two putative zinc fingers homologous to the DNA binding domain of Tramtrack. sequoia mutants affect the cell fate decision of a small subset of neurons but have global effects on axon and dendrite morphologies of most and possibly all neurons. In support of sequoia as a specific regulator of neuronal morphogenesis, microarray experiments indicate that sequoia may regulate downstream genes that are important for executing neurite development rather than altering a variety of molecules that specify cell fates.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Brenman
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Jan
authors.forename: Y N
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Jan
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D048429:Cell Size; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C443103:seq protein, Drosophila; C075878:ttk protein, Drosophila