title: SEK-1 MAPKK mediates Ca2+ signaling to determine neuronal asymmetric development in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is a highly conserved signaling cascade that converts extracellular signals into various outputs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, asymmetric expression of the candidate odorant receptor STR-2 in either the left or the right of two bilaterally symmetrical olfactory AWC neurons is regulated by axon contact and Ca2+ signaling. We show that the MAPK kinase (MAPKK) SEK-1 is required for asymmetric expression in AWC neurons. Genetic and biochemical analyses reveal that SEK-1 functions in a pathway downstream of UNC-43 and NSY-1, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK), respectively. Thus, the NSY-1-SEK-1-MAPK cascade is activated by Ca2+ signaling through CaMKII and establishes asymmetric cell fate decision during neuronal development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University (and CREST, Japan Science and Technology Corporation), Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka-Hino
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sagasti
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hisamoto
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ninomiya-Tsuji
authors.forename: Cornelia I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Bargmann
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; C482559:MAP2K4 protein, human; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases