unc-3-dependent repression of specific motor neuron fates in Caenorhabditis elegans.
unc-3 encodes the Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of the Olf-1/Early B cell factor family of transcription factors, which in vertebrates regulate development and differentiation of B lymphocytes, adipocytes, and cells of the nervous system. unc-3 mutants are uncoordinated in locomotion. Here we show that unc-3 represses a VC-like motor neuron program in the VA and VB motor neurons, which in wild-type animals control backwards and forwards locomotion, respectively. We identify a physical interaction between UNC-3 and the C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor PAG-3, the mammalian homologs of which are coexpressed in olfactory epithelium and hematopoietic cells. Our data explain the locomotory defects of unc-3 mutants and suggest that interactions between unc-3 and pag-3 orthologs in other species may be functionally important.
Prasad
Brinda
B
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and Center for Sensory Biology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Karakuzu
Ozgur
O
Reed
Randall R
RR
Cameron
Scott
S
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019281:Dimerization; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011485:Protein Binding; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
D015415:Biomarkers; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C106295:Pag-3 protein, C elegans; D014157:Transcription Factors; C112508:unc-3 protein, C elegans