Sequoia, a tramtrack-related zinc finger protein, functions as a pan-neural regulator for dendrite and axon morphogenesis in Drosophila.
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.
Brenman
J E
JE
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
Gao
F B
FB
Jan
L Y
LY
Jan
Y N
YN
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
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