The UNC-3 Olf/EBF protein represses alternate neuronal programs to specify chemosensory neuron identity.
Neuronal identities are specified by the combinatorial functions of activators and repressors of gene expression. Members of the well-conserved Olf/EBF (O/E) transcription factor family have been shown to play important roles in neuronal and non-neuronal development and differentiation. O/E proteins are highly expressed in the olfactory epithelium, and O/E binding sites have been identified upstream of olfactory genes. However, the roles of O/E proteins in sensory neuron development are unclear. Here we show that the O/E protein UNC-3 is required for subtype specification of the ASI chemosensory neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans. UNC-3 promotes an ASI identity by directly repressing the expression of alternate neuronal programs and by activating expression of ASI-specific genes including the daf-7 TGF-beta gene. Our results indicate that UNC-3 is a critical component of the transcription factor code that integrates cell-intrinsic developmental programs with external signals to specify sensory neuronal identity and suggest models for O/E protein functions in other systems.
Kim
Kyuhyung
K
Department of Biology and Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02454, USA.
Colosimo
Marc E
ME
Yeung
Helen
H
Sengupta
Piali
P
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000235:genetics; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D009154:Mutation; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018509:DNA, Helminth; D014157:Transcription Factors; C112508:unc-3 protein, C elegans