title: Receptor tyrosine phosphatase CLR-1 acts in skin cells to promote sensory dendrite outgrowth.
abstract: Sensory dendrite morphogenesis is directed by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The extracellular environment plays instructive roles in patterning dendrite growth and branching. However, the molecular mechanism is not well understood. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the proprioceptive neuron PVD forms highly branched sensory dendrites adjacent to the hypodermis. We report that receptor tyrosine phosphatase CLR-1 functions in the hypodermis to pattern the PVD dendritic branches. Mutations in clr-1 lead to loss of quaternary branches, reduced secondary branches and increased ectopic branches. CLR-1 is necessary for the dendrite extension but not for the initial filopodia formation. Its role is dependent on the intracellular phosphatase domain but not the extracellular adhesion domain, indicating that it functions through dephosphorylating downstream factors but not through direct adhesion with neurons. Genetic analysis reveals that clr-1 also functions in parallel with SAX-7/DMA-1 pathway to control PVD primary dendrite development. We provide evidence of a new environmental factor for PVD dendrite morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xianzhuang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: xmwang@moon.ibp.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xiangming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA. Electronic address: kangshen@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism*; D020405:Dermis / Q000196:embryology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011554:Pseudopodia / Q000378:metabolism; D054557:Receptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000196:embryology*; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules; C501528:SAX-7 protein, C elegans; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C112492:CLR-1 protein, C elegans; D054557:Receptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases
keywords: CLR-1; Dendrite; PVD; Receptor tyrosine phosphatase