The C elegans hunchback homolog, hbl-1, controls temporal patterning and is a probable microRNA target.
hunchback regulates the temporal identity of neuroblasts in Drosophila. Here we show that hbl-1, the C. elegans hunchback ortholog, also controls temporal patterning. Furthermore, hbl-1 is a probable target of microRNA regulation through its 3'UTR. hbl-1 loss-of-function causes the precocious expression of adult seam cell fates. This phenotype is similar to loss-of-function of lin-41, a known target of the let-7 microRNA. Like lin-41 mutations, hbl-1 loss-of-function partially suppresses a let-7 mutation. The hbl-1 3'UTR is both necessary and sufficient to downregulate a reporter gene during development, and the let-7 and lin-4 microRNAs are both required for HBL-1/GFP downregulation. Multiple elements in the hbl-1 3'UTR show complementarity to regulatory microRNAs, suggesting that microRNAs directly control hbl-1. MicroRNAs may likewise function to regulate Drosophila hunchback during temporal patterning of the nervous system.
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208103, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Shin-Yi
SY
Lin
Steven M
SM
Johnson
Mary
M
Abraham
Monica C
MC
Vella
Amy
A
Pasquinelli
Chiara
C
Gamberi
Ellen
E
Gottlieb
Frank J
FJ
Slack
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019521:Body Patterning; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005091:Exons; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007438:Introns; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D034622:RNA Interference; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C095571:LIN-29 protein, C elegans; C061245:hb protein, Drosophila; C474486:hbl-1 protein, C elegans; C452194:lin-4 microRNA, C elegans