The C. elegans ceh-36 gene encodes a putative homemodomain transcription factor involved in chemosensory functions of ASE and AWC neurons.
Chemotaxis to water-soluble chemicals such as sodium ion is an important behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans for seeking food, and ASE chemosensory neurons have a major role in this behavior. We isolated mutants defective in chemotaxis to sodium acetate. We show here that among them ks86 had a mutation in the ceh-36 gene. ceh-36 :: gfp reporter constructs were expressed in ASE and AWC neurons. In a mutant of the che-1 gene, which encodes another transcription factor and is required for specification of ASE neurons, expression of the ceh-36 :: gfp reporter in ASE is lost. This indicates that the ceh-36 gene functions downstream of the che-1 gene in ASE. In the ceh-36(ks86) mutant, expression of the tax-2 gene encoding a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel was reduced in ASE and AWC. This affords an explanation for defects of the ceh-36 mutant in the chemotaxis mediated by ASE and AWC. When a ceh-36 cDNA was expressed in an adult ceh-36 mutant by a heat shock promoter, chemotaxis to sodium acetate was recovered. These results suggest that ceh-36 is required for functions, and not for development, of ASE.
Koga
Makoto
M
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University Graduate School, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-Ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan. mkogascb@mbox.nc.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Ohshima
Yasumi
Y
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D019346:Sodium Acetate / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C485328:ceh-36 protein, C elegans; D019346:Sodium Acetate