Abstract
The expression of specialized signal transduction components in mammalian olfactory neurons is thought to be regulated by the O/E (Olf-1/EBF) family of transcription factors. The O/E proteins are expressed in cells of the olfactory neuronal lineage throughout development and are also expressed transiently in neurons in the developing nervous system during embryogenesis. We have identified a C. elegans homologue of the mammalian O/E proteins, which displays greater than 80% similarity over 350 amino acids. Like its mammalian homologues, CeO/E is expressed in certain chemosensory neurons (ASI amphid neurons) throughout development and is also expressed transiently in developing motor neurons when these cells undergo axonal outgrowth. We demonstrate that CeO/E is the product of the unc-3 gene, mutations in which cause defects in the axonal outgrowth of motor neurons, as well as defects in dauer formation, a process requiring chemosensory inputs. These observations suggest that the O/E family of transcription factors play a central and evolutionarily conserved role in the expression of proteins essential for axonal pathfinding and/or neuronal differentiation in both sensory and motor neurons.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1561-1568 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Development |
Volume | 125 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1998 |
Keywords
- Axonal pathfinding
- Caenorhabditis elegans
- Transcription
- unc-3
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology