Promoter activity of the retinoic acid receptor gene in theCiona intestinalis embryo

Chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferases are required for cell adhesion and morphogenesis in the Ciona intestinalis embryo

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a carbohydrate component of proteoglycans. Several types of sulfotransferases determine the pattern of CS sulfation, and thus regulate the biological functions of proteoglycans. The protochordate ascidians are the closest relatives of vertebrates, but the functions of their sulfotransferases have not been investigated. Here, we show that two chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferases (C4STs) play important roles in the embryonic morphogenesis of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Ci-C4ST-like1 is predominantly expressed in the epidermis and muscle. Epidermal and muscle cells became spherical upon the injection of a Ci-C4ST-like1-specific morpholino oligo (MO), thus suggesting weakened cell adhesion. Co-injection of a Ci-C4ST-like1-expressing transgene rescued the phenotype, suggesting that the effects of the MO were specific. Ci-C4ST-like3 was expressed in the central nervous system, muscle, and mesenchyme. A specific MO appeared to affect cell adhesion in the epidermis and muscle. Convergent extension movement of notochordal cells was also impaired. Forced expression of Ci-C4ST-like3 restored normal morphogenesis, suggesting that the effects of the MO were specific. The present study suggests that Ci-C4ST-like1 and Ci-C4ST-like3 are required for cell adhesion mainly in the epidermis and muscle.

Retinoid X receptor-mediated transdifferentiation cascade in budding tunicates

In the budding tunicate, Polyandrocarpa misakiensis, retinoic acid (RA) applied to buds promotes transdifferentiation of somatic cells to form the secondary body axis. This study investigated the gene cascade regulating such RA-triggered transdifferentiation in tunicates. Genes encoding retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) were induced during transdifferentiation, and they responded to all-trans RA or 13-cis RA in vivo, whereas 9-cis RA had the least effects, demonstrating differences in the ligand preference between budding tunicates and vertebrates. In contrast to RAR mRNA, RXR mRNA could induce transdifferentiation-related genes such as RXR itself, ERK, and MYC in an RA-dependent manner and also induced β-catenin (β-CTN) RA-independently when it was introduced in vitro into tunicate cell lines that do not express endogenous RAR or RXR. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) of RXR dramatically attenuated not only RXR but also ERK and β-CTN gene activities. An ERK inhibitor severely blocked wound healing and dedifferentiation. β-CTN siRNA suppressed morphogenesis and redifferentiation, similar to RXR siRNA. These results indicate that in P. misakiensis, the main function of RA is to trigger positive feedback regulation of RXR rather than to activate RAR for unlocking downstream pathways for transdifferentiation. Our results may reflect an ancient mode of RA signaling in chordates.

Study of Cis-regulatory Elements in the Ascidian Ciona intestinalis

The ascidian (sea squirt) C. intestinalis has become an important model organism for the study of cis-regulation. This is largely due to the technology that has been developed for assessing cis-regulatory activity through the use of transient reporter transgenes introduced into fertilized eggs. This technique allows the rapid and inexpensive testing of endogenous or altered DNA for regulatory activity in vivo. This review examines evidence that C. intestinaliscis-regulatory elements are located more closely to coding regions than in other model organisms. I go on to compare the organization of cis-regulatory elements and conserved non-coding sequences in Ciona, mammals, and other deuterostomes for three representative C.intestinalis genes, Pax6, FoxAa, and the DlxA-B cluster, along with homologs in the other species. These comparisons point out some of the similarities and differences between cis-regulatory elements and their study in the various model organisms. Finally, I provide illustrations of how C. intestinalis lends itself to detailed study of the structure of cis-regulatory elements, which have led, and promise to continue to lead, to important insights into the fundamentals of transcriptional regulation.

Mechanism of DNA replication-dependent transcriptional activation of the acetylcholinesterase gene in the Ciona intestinalis embryo

The acetylcholinesterase-encoding gene in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis (Ci-AChE) is expressed in tail muscle cells from the gastrula stage. When the embryo was continuously treated with aphidicolin from the 32-cell stage, Ci-AChE was not expressed even when control embryos reached the tailbud stage. This result suggests that Ci-AChE acquires the competence to be transcribed after passing through a certain number of DNA replication cycles. A lacZ reporter gene containing the 5' flanking region of Ci-AChE was expressed in the tail muscle cells. Aphidicolin treatment from the 32-cell stage affected, but did not completely suppress, the expression of lacZ. A bisulfite sequencing analysis was carried out to examine the methylation status of four regions within the 5' flanking sequence and the first exon. However, all of these regions remained unmethylated from the 16-cell to 110-cell stages. The results suggested that the DNA of the Ci-AChE locus is not responsible for counting the rounds of replication. We examined the expression of the C. intestinalis MyoD (Ci-MyoD), a transcription factor that activates Ci-AChE. Aphidicolin treatment from the 32-cell stage suppressed the expression of Ci-MyoD, even when control embryos reached the gastrula stage. These results suggest that a lack of Ci-MyoD is critical to the suppression of Ci-AChE in aphidicolin-treated embryos.

Transcriptional regulation of the retinoic acid receptor in the dorsal midline epidermis in the Ciona intestinalis embryo

Retinoic acid regulates the spatial pattern of gene expression mainly in the epidermis in the protochordate ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. Our previous study characterized the enhancer element responsible for the activation of the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) in the dorsal midline epidermis (DME). In the present study, detailed analysis identified two small sequence elements required for the transcriptional activation in the DME. Deletion of either one of these sequences resulted in suppression of the DME enhancer, suggesting that both sites are necessary. The nucleotide sequences of these two sites were similar to the consensus recognition sequences for the Msx and Sox transcription factors, respectively. These transcription factors are expressed in the DME lineage blastomeres (b7.9 and b7.10 blastomere pairs of bilaterally symmetrical embryos of this species) at the 64-cell stage. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that recombinant Msxb and SoxB1 proteins specifically bound to these sequences. These results suggest that Msxb and SoxB1 synergistically activate the enhancer in the DME.

Retinoids and nonvertebrate chordate development

Retinoic acid (RA) is required for the differentiation and morphogenesis of chordate-specific features, such as the antero-posterior regionalization of the dorsal hollow nerve cord and neural crest cells. RA receptors (RARs) have been reported exclusively in chordates, suggesting that the acquisition of the RAR gene was important for chordate evolution. A scenario is presented here for the establishment of an RAR-mediated developmental regulatory system during the course of chordate evolution. In the common chordate ancestor, RAR came to control the spatial expression pattern of Hox genes in the ectoderm and endoderm along the antero-posterior axis. In these germ layers, RA was required for the differentiation of epidermal sensory neurons and the morphogenesis of pharyngeal gill slits, respectively. As the diffuse epidermal nerve net in the chordate ancestor became centralized to form the dorsal nerve cord, the epidermal Hox expression pattern was carried into the central nervous system. Because the Hox code here came to specify neuronal identity along the antero-posterior axis, RA became inextricably linked to the antero-posterior patterning of the chordate central nervous system.