GSE184315
BRCA1 and ELK-1 regulate Neural Progenitor Cell Fate in the Optic Tectum in response to Visual Experience in Xenopus laevis tadpoles
To identify regulators of activity-dependent neural progenitor cell fate, we used RNA-Seq to profile the transcriptomes of proliferating neural progenitor cells and newly-differentiated immature neurons. We identified six DE transcription factors which are predicted to regulate the majority of the other DE transcripts. We investigated the effect of BRCA1 and ELK-1 on activity-regulated neurogenesis in the tadpole visual system and found that knockdown of either BRCA1 or ELK-1 altered the fates of neural progenitor cells, and furthermore that the effects of visual experience on neurogenesis depend on BRCA1 expression, while the effects of visual experience on neuronal differentiation depend on ELK-1 expression. These studies provide insight into the potential mechanisms by which neural activity affects neural progenitor cell fate. Overall design: Comparison of mRNA profiles in the X. laevis optic tectum at stages 46 between neural progenitor-enriched and immature neuron-enriched populations