1
|
Liu J, Murray JI. Mechanisms of lineage specification in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 2023; 225:iyad174. [PMID: 37847877 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The studies of cell fate and lineage specification are fundamental to our understanding of the development of multicellular organisms. Caenorhabditis elegans has been one of the premiere systems for studying cell fate specification mechanisms at single cell resolution, due to its transparent nature, the invariant cell lineage, and fixed number of somatic cells. We discuss the general themes and regulatory mechanisms that have emerged from these studies, with a focus on somatic lineages and cell fates. We next review the key factors and pathways that regulate the specification of discrete cells and lineages during embryogenesis and postembryonic development; we focus on transcription factors and include numerous lineage diagrams that depict the expression of key factors that specify embryonic founder cells and postembryonic blast cells, and the diverse somatic cell fates they generate. We end by discussing some future perspectives in cell and lineage specification.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - John Isaac Murray
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Nonautonomous Roles of MAB-5/Hox and the Secreted Basement Membrane Molecule SPON-1/F-Spondin in Caenorhabditis elegans Neuronal Migration. Genetics 2016; 203:1747-62. [PMID: 27225683 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.116.188367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Nervous system development and circuit formation requires neurons to migrate from their birthplaces to specific destinations.Migrating neurons detect extracellular cues that provide guidance information. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the Q right (QR) and Q left (QL) neuroblast descendants migrate long distances in opposite directions. The Hox gene lin-39 cell autonomously promotes anterior QR descendant migration, and mab-5/Hox cell autonomously promotes posterior QL descendant migration. Here we describe a nonautonomous role of mab-5 in regulating both QR and QL descendant migrations, a role masked by redundancy with lin-39 A third Hox gene, egl-5/Abdominal-B, also likely nonautonomously regulates Q descendant migrations. In the lin-39 mab-5 egl-5 triple mutant, little if any QR and QL descendant migration occurs. In addition to well-described roles of lin-39 and mab-5 in the Q descendants, our results suggest that lin-39, mab-5, and egl-5 might also pattern the posterior region of the animal for Q descendant migration. Previous studies showed that the spon-1 gene might be a target of MAB-5 in Q descendant migration. spon-1 encodes a secreted basement membrane molecule similar to vertebrate F-spondin. Here we show that spon-1 acts nonautonomously to control Q descendant migration, and might function as a permissive rather than instructive signal for cell migration. We find that increased levels of MAB-5 in body wall muscle (BWM) can drive the spon-1 promoter adjacent to the Q cells, and loss of spon-1 suppresses mab-5 gain of function. Thus, MAB-5 might nonautonomously control Q descendant migrations by patterning the posterior region of the animal to which Q cells respond. spon-1 expression from BWMs might be part of the posterior patterning necessary for directed Q descendant migration.
Collapse
|
3
|
Liu WJ, Reece-Hoyes JS, Walhout AJM, Eisenmann DM. Multiple transcription factors directly regulate Hox gene lin-39 expression in ventral hypodermal cells of the C. elegans embryo and larva, including the hypodermal fate regulators LIN-26 and ELT-6. BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2014; 14:17. [PMID: 24885717 PMCID: PMC4051164 DOI: 10.1186/1471-213x-14-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Background Hox genes encode master regulators of regional fate specification during early metazoan development. Much is known about the initiation and regulation of Hox gene expression in Drosophila and vertebrates, but less is known in the non-arthropod invertebrate model system, C. elegans. The C. elegans Hox gene lin-39 is required for correct fate specification in the midbody region, including the Vulval Precursor Cells (VPCs). To better understand lin-39 regulation and function, we aimed to identify transcription factors necessary for lin-39 expression in the VPCs, and in particular sought factors that initiate lin-39 expression in the embryo. Results We used the yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) method to screen for factors that bound to 13 fragments from the lin-39 region: twelve fragments contained sequences conserved between C. elegans and two other nematode species, while one fragment was known to drive reporter gene expression in the early embryo in cells that generate the VPCs. Sixteen transcription factors that bind to eight lin-39 genomic fragments were identified in yeast, and we characterized several factors by verifying their physical interactions in vitro, and showing that reduction of their function leads to alterations in lin-39 levels and lin-39::GFP reporter expression in vivo. Three factors, the orphan nuclear hormone receptor NHR-43, the hypodermal fate regulator LIN-26, and the GATA factor ELT-6 positively regulate lin-39 expression in the embryonic precursors to the VPCs. In particular, ELT-6 interacts with an enhancer that drives GFP expression in the early embryo, and the ELT-6 site we identified is necessary for proper embryonic expression. These three factors, along with the factors ZTF-17, BED-3 and TBX-9, also positively regulate lin-39 expression in the larval VPCs. Conclusions These results significantly expand the number of factors known to directly bind and regulate lin-39 expression, identify the first factors required for lin-39 expression in the embryo, and hint at a positive feedback mechanism involving GATA factors that maintains lin-39 expression in the vulval lineage. This work indicates that, as in other organisms, the regulation of Hox gene expression in C. elegans is complicated, redundant and robust.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - David M Eisenmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore 21250, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Jackson BM, Eisenmann DM. β-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling in C. elegans: teaching an old dog a new trick. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2012; 4:a007948. [PMID: 22745286 PMCID: PMC3405868 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a007948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Wnt signaling is an evolutionarily ancient pathway used to regulate many events during metazoan development. Genetic results from Caenorhabditis elegans more than a dozen years ago suggested that Wnt signaling in this nematode worm might be different than in vertebrates and Drosophila: the worm had a small number of Wnts, too many β-catenins, and some Wnt pathway components functioned in an opposite manner than in other species. Work over the ensuing years has clarified that C. elegans does possess a canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway similar to that in other metazoans, but that the majority of Wnt signaling in this species may proceed via a variant Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway that uses some new components (mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling enzymes), and in which some conserved pathway components (β-catenin, T-cell factor [TCF]) are used in new and interesting ways. This review summarizes our current understanding of the canonical and novel TCF/β-catenin-dependent signaling pathways in C. elegans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Belinda M Jackson
- Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pénigault JB, Félix MA. High sensitivity of C. elegans vulval precursor cells to the dose of posterior Wnts. Dev Biol 2011; 357:428-38. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2011.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2011] [Revised: 06/02/2011] [Accepted: 06/04/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
6
|
Niu W, Lu ZJ, Zhong M, Sarov M, Murray JI, Brdlik CM, Janette J, Chen C, Alves P, Preston E, Slightham C, Jiang L, Hyman AA, Kim SK, Waterston RH, Gerstein M, Snyder M, Reinke V. Diverse transcription factor binding features revealed by genome-wide ChIP-seq in C. elegans. Genome Res 2010; 21:245-54. [PMID: 21177963 DOI: 10.1101/gr.114587.110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 183] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Regulation of gene expression by sequence-specific transcription factors is central to developmental programs and depends on the binding of transcription factors with target sites in the genome. To date, most such analyses in Caenorhabditis elegans have focused on the interactions between a single transcription factor with one or a few select target genes. As part of the modENCODE Consortium, we have used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) to determine the genome-wide binding sites of 22 transcription factors (ALR-1, BLMP-1, CEH-14, CEH-30, EGL-27, EGL-5, ELT-3, EOR-1, GEI-11, HLH-1, LIN-11, LIN-13, LIN-15B, LIN-39, MAB-5, MDL-1, MEP-1, PES-1, PHA-4, PQM-1, SKN-1, and UNC-130) at diverse developmental stages. For each factor we determined candidate gene targets, both coding and non-coding. The typical binding sites of almost all factors are within a few hundred nucleotides of the transcript start site. Most factors target a mixture of coding and non-coding target genes, although one factor preferentially binds to non-coding RNA genes. We built a regulatory network among the 22 factors to determine their functional relationships to each other and found that some factors appear to act preferentially as regulators and others as target genes. Examination of the binding targets of three related HOX factors--LIN-39, MAB-5, and EGL-5--indicates that these factors regulate genes involved in cellular migration, neuronal function, and vulval differentiation, consistent with their known roles in these developmental processes. Ultimately, the comprehensive mapping of transcription factor binding sites will identify features of transcriptional networks that regulate C. elegans developmental processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Niu
- Department of Genetics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Kalis AK, Murphy MW, Zarkower D. EGL-5/ABD-B plays an instructive role in male cell fate determination in the C. elegans somatic gonad. Dev Biol 2010; 344:827-35. [PMID: 20553900 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2010.05.516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2010] [Revised: 05/26/2010] [Accepted: 05/28/2010] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Hox genes of the Abdominal-B (Abd-B) class regulate gonadal development in diverse metazoans. Here we have investigated the role of the Abd-B homolog egl-5 in C. elegans gonadal development. Previous work showed that egl-5 is required male-specifically in the gonad and that mutant gonads are highly dysgenic and possibly feminized. We have used sex-specific gonadal reporter genes to confirm that the gonads of egl-5 males are extensively feminized. Sex-specific expression of egl-5 requires the global sex determination gene tra-1 and the gonadal masculinizing gene fkh-6, but mutagenesis of a short male gonadal enhancer element in egl-5 suggested that this regulation is indirect. Ectopic expression of EGL-5 in hermaphrodites is sufficient to induce male gonadal gene expression, indicating that EGL-5 plays an instructive role in male gonadal fate determination. EGL-5 acts in parallel with a Wnt/beta-catenin pathway to regulate male gonadal fates and can physically interact with the Wnt pathway transcription factor POP-1 and modulate activity of a POP-1 dependent reporter gene. We propose that EGL-5 imparts sex-specific function on POP-1 by recruiting it to male-specific gonadal target genes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea K Kalis
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
The aetiology of pattern-formation in human naevoid skin disease remains unknown. However, it is likely that the majority of previously proposed mechanisms - those that simply rely on passive clonal trafficking in embryogenesis - are incomplete. A more comprehensive explanation for pattern-formation in naevi invokes the principle of self-organization. We define two types of patterning: anatomical and functional. Anatomical patterning is where the abnormal clone is limited to regions of pathologic skin, while functional patterning is where the abnormal clone and pathologic skin are spatially uncorrelated. From a theoretical perspective self-organized naevoid patterns may be either secondary to local interactions between normal and aberrant genotypes or due to the interaction between aberrant genotypes and the presence of normal embryonic patterning cues. The latter possibility suggests the critical observation and analysis of patterns in naevoid skin disease may lead to unique insights into key aspects of early human embryogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Gilmore
- Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, School of Medicine, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Dynamic O-GlcNAc cycling at promoters of Caenorhabditis elegans genes regulating longevity, stress, and immunity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:7413-8. [PMID: 20368426 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911857107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Nutrient-driven O-GlcNAcylation of key components of the transcription machinery may epigenetically modulate gene expression in metazoans. The global effects of GlcNAcylation on transcription can be addressed directly in C. elegans because knockouts of the O-GlcNAc cycling enzymes are viable and fertile. Using anti-O-GlcNAc ChIP-on-chip whole-genome tiling arrays on wild-type and mutant strains, we detected over 800 promoters where O-GlcNAc cycling occurs, including microRNA loci and multigene operons. Intriguingly, O-GlcNAc-marked promoters are biased toward genes associated with PIP3 signaling, hexosamine biosynthesis, and lipid/carbohydrate metabolism. These marked genes are linked to insulin-like signaling, metabolism, aging, stress, and pathogen-response pathways in C. elegans. Whole-genome transcriptional profiling of the O-GlcNAc cycling mutants confirmed dramatic deregulation of genes in these key pathways. As predicted, the O-GlcNAc cycling mutants show altered lifespan and UV stress susceptibility phenotypes. We propose that O-GlcNAc cycling at promoters participates in a molecular program impacting nutrient-responsive pathways in C. elegans, including stress, pathogen response, and adult lifespan. The observed impact of O-GlcNAc cycling on both signaling and transcription in C. elegans has important implications for human diseases of aging, including diabetes and neurodegeneration.
Collapse
|
10
|
Abstract
BTB-zinc finger transcription factors play many important roles in metazoan development. In these proteins, the BTB domain is critical for dimerization and for recruiting cofactors to target genes. Identification of these cofactors is important for understanding how BTB-zinc finger proteins influence transcription. Here we show that the novel but conserved protein EOR-2 is an obligate binding partner of the BTB-zinc finger protein EOR-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. EOR-1 and EOR-2 function together to promote multiple Ras/ERK-dependent cell fates during development, and we show that EOR-1 is a robust substrate of ERK in vitro. A point mutation (L81F) in the EOR-1 BTB domain reduces both ERK phosphorylation and EOR-2 binding and eliminates all detectable biological function without affecting EOR-1 expression levels, localization, or dimerization. This point mutation lies near the predicted charged pocket region of the EOR-1 BTB dimer, a region that, in other BTB-zinc finger proteins, has been proposed to interact with corepressors or coactivators. We also show that a conserved zinc finger-like motif in EOR-2 is required for binding to EOR-1, that the interaction between EOR-1 and EOR-2 is direct, and that EOR-2 can bind to the human BTB-zinc finger protein PLZF. We propose that EOR-2 defines a new family of cofactors for BTB-zinc finger transcription factors that may have conserved roles in other organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Howell
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
| | - Swathi Arur
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
| | - Tim Schedl
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
| | - Meera V. Sundaram
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 and Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
| |
Collapse
|