A novel role for the zinc-finger transcription factor EGL-46 in the differentiation of gas-sensing neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans.
Oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) provoke distinct olfactory behaviors via specialized sensory neurons across metazoa. In the nematode C. elegans, the BAG sensory neurons are specialized to sense changes in both O2 and CO2 levels in the environment. The precise functionality of these neurons is specified by the coexpression of a membrane-bound receptor-type guanylyl cyclase GCY-9 that is required for responses to CO2 upshifts and the soluble guanylyl cyclases GCY-31 and GCY-33 that mediate responses to downshifts in O2. Expression of these gas-sensing molecules in the BAG neurons is partially, although not completely, controlled by ETS-5, an ETS-domain-containing transcription factor, and EGL-13, a Sox transcription factor. We report here the identification of EGL-46, a zinc-finger transcription factor, which regulates BAG gas-sensing fate in partially parallel pathways to ETS-5 and EGL-13. Thereby, three conserved transcription factors collaborate to ensure neuron type-specific identity features of the BAG gas-sensing neurons.
Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
Teresa
T
Rojo Romanos
Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
Jakob Gramstrup
JG
Petersen
Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
Alba Redo
AR
Riveiro
Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark roger.pocock@bric.ku.dk.
Roger
R
Pocock
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006162:Guanylate Cyclase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055495:Neurogenesis; D010100:Oxygen / Q000494:pharmacology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C491546:EGL-13 protein, C elegans; C479546:EGL-46 protein, C elegans; D014157:Transcription Factors; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D006162:Guanylate Cyclase; D010100:Oxygen
gas sensing; neuronal fate specification; transcription factor