Brn3/POU-IV-type POU homeobox genes—Paradigmatic regulators of neuronal identity across phylogeny
Corresponding Author
Eduardo Leyva-Díaz
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Correspondence
Eduardo Leyva-Díaz, Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorNeda Masoudi
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorEsther Serrano-Saiz
Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa/CSIC, Madrid, Spain
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorLori Glenwinkel
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorOliver Hobert
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Eduardo Leyva-Díaz
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Correspondence
Eduardo Leyva-Díaz, Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Email: [email protected]
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorNeda Masoudi
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorEsther Serrano-Saiz
Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa/CSIC, Madrid, Spain
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorLori Glenwinkel
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorOliver Hobert
Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York
Contribution: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: European Molecular Biology Organization Long-Term Fellowship, Grant/Award Number: ALTF 962-2014; HHMI; National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia & Depression (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award BBRF Grant, Grant/Award Number: 25455
Abstract
One approach to understand the construction of complex systems is to investigate whether there are simple design principles that are commonly used in building such a system. In the context of nervous system development, one may ask whether the generation of its highly diverse sets of constituents, that is, distinct neuronal cell types, relies on genetic mechanisms that share specific common features. Specifically, are there common patterns in the function of regulatory genes across different neuron types and are those regulatory mechanisms not only used in different parts of one nervous system, but are they conserved across animal phylogeny? We address these questions here by focusing on one specific, highly conserved and well-studied regulatory factor, the POU homeodomain transcription factor UNC-86. Work over the last 30 years has revealed a common and paradigmatic theme of unc-86 function throughout most of the neuron types in which Caenorhabditis elegans unc-86 is expressed. Apart from its role in preventing lineage reiterations during development, UNC-86 operates in combination with distinct partner proteins to initiate and maintain terminal differentiation programs, by coregulating a vast array of functionally distinct identity determinants of specific neuron types. Mouse orthologs of unc-86, the Brn3 genes, have been shown to fulfill a similar function in initiating and maintaining neuronal identity in specific parts of the mouse brain and similar functions appear to be carried out by the sole Drosophila ortholog, Acj6. The terminal selector function of UNC-86 in many different neuron types provides a paradigm for neuronal identity regulation across phylogeny.
This article is categorized under:
- Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Regulatory Mechanisms
- Invertebrate Organogenesis > Worms
- Nervous System Development > Vertebrates: Regional Development
Graphical Abstract
Initiation and maintenance of neuronal terminal differentiation programs.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
Supporting Information
Filename | Description |
---|---|
wdev374-sup-0001-TableS1.docxWord 2007 document , 2 MB | Table S1. UNC-86 direct DNA binding evidence. |
wdev374-sup-0002-TableS2.docxWord 2007 document , 30.1 KB | Table S2. UNC-86 dependent genes by neuron class. |
wdev374-sup-0003-TableS3.docxWord 2007 document , 142.6 KB | Table S3. BRN3 dependent genes. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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