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.
Lin
Shin-Yi
SY
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208103, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Johnson
Steven M
SM
Abraham
Mary
M
Vella
Monica C
MC
Pasquinelli
Amy
A
Gamberi
Chiara
C
Gottlieb
Ellen
E
Slack
Frank J
FJ
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