Cell fate specification and differentiation in the nervous system ofCaenorhabditis elegans

Sengupta, Piali; Bargmann, Cornelia I.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6408(1996)18:1<73::aid-dvg8>3.0.co;2-z

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…We used diacetyl, a known C. elegans chemoattractant, to compare wildtype worms to that of a mutant that lacks the receptor for diacetyl 1,12 . For wildtype (N2) worms the chemotactic index was 0.100±0.066 to ethanol, and 0.839±0.031 to 0.5% diacetyl.…”

Section: Representative Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<em>C. elegans</em> Chemotaxis Assay

Margie

Palmer

Chin-Sang

2013

JoVE

118

102

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Many organisms use chemotaxis to seek out food sources, avoid noxious substances, and find mates. Caenorhabditis elegans has impressive chemotaxis behavior.The premise behind testing the response of the worms to an odorant is to place them in an area and observe the movement evoked in response to an odorant. Even with the many available assays, optimizing worm starting location relative to both the control and test areas, while minimizing the interaction of worms with each other, while maintaining a significant sample size remains a work in progress [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] . The method described here aims to address these issues by modifying the assay developed by Bargmann et al.

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Section: Representative Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<em>C. elegans</em> Chemotaxis Assay

Margie

Palmer

Chin-Sang

2013

JoVE

118

102

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“…Lin-14 acts as a genetic switch that controls the choice to execute the sublineage that generates the postembryonic touch cells AVM/PVM (191,293). Lin-32, a transcription factor related to Drosophila aschete-scute of the basic helix-loop helix family, is needed for the generation of precursors for the PLM and the AVM/PVM cells (108,293,323,367,481). The unc-86 POU homeodomain protein and the MEC-3 LIM homeodomain protein are essential for directing appropriate differentiation of precursors that generate all six touch receptor neurons (discussed in detail in section IIIB3; Refs.…”

Section: Development and Differentiation Of Touch Receptorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Models of Mechanotransduction: The NematodeCaenorhabditis elegans

Syntichaki¹,

Tavernarakis²

2004

Physiological Reviews

116

103

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Mechanotransduction, the conversion of a mechanical stimulus into a biological response, constitutes the basis for a plethora of fundamental biological processes such as the senses of touch, balance, and hearing and contributes critically to development and homeostasis in all organisms. Despite this profound importance in biology, we know remarkably little about how mechanical input forces delivered to a cell are interpreted to an extensive repertoire of output physiological responses. Recent, elegant genetic and electrophysiological studies have shown that specialized macromolecular complexes, encompassing mechanically gated ion channels, play a central role in the transformation of mechanical forces into a cellular signal, which takes place in mechanosensory organs of diverse organisms. These complexes are highly efficient sensors, closely entangled with their surrounding environment. Such association appears essential for proper channel gating and provides proximity of the mechanosensory apparatus to the source of triggering mechanical energy. Genetic and molecular evidence collected in model organisms such as the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and the mouse highlight two distinct classes of mechanically gated ion channels: the degenerin (DEG)/epithelial Na(+) channel (ENaC) family and the transient receptor potential (TRP) family of ion channels. In addition to the core channel proteins, several other potentially interacting molecules have in some cases been identified, which are likely parts of the mechanotransducing apparatus. Based on cumulative data, a model of the sensory mechanotransducer has emerged that encompasses our current understanding of the process and fulfills the structural requirements dictated by its dedicated function. It remains to be seen how general this model is and whether it will withstand the impiteous test of time.

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“…Studies in mammals and in C. elegans suggest that lineage-intrinsic mechanisms are important for the generation of this diversity. Transcriptional regulators that are induced during early development play key roles in determining neuronal subtype identity (Sengupta and Bargmann 1996;Tanabe and Jessell 1996), and are expressed in complex, overlapping patterns.The expression of a particular repertoire of neuronspecific proteins results from the integration of functions of multiple transcription factors. In one well-characterized example, the hermaphrodite-specific neuron (HSN) of C. elegans, which regulates egg-laying, integrates inputs from the position of the cell, the sex of the animal, and its developmental state to achieve its terminally differentiated fate.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Control of neuronal subtype identity by the C. elegans ARID protein CFI-1

Shaham¹,

Bargmann²

2002

Genes Dev.

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The Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite nervous system is composed of 302 neurons that fall into at least 118 diverse classes. Here we describe cfi-1, a gene that contributes to the development of neuronal diversity. cfi-1 promotes appropriate differentiation of the URA sensory neurons and inhibits URA from expressing the male-specific CEM neuronal fate. The UNC-86 POU homeodomain protein is present in CEM and URA neurons, and can promote expression of CEM-specific genes in both CEM and URA, but CFI-1 inhibits expression of these genes in the URA cells. cfi-1 also promotes appropriate differentiation and glutamate receptor expression in the AVD and PVC interneurons. cfi-1 encodes a conserved neuron-and muscle-restricted DNA-binding protein containing an A/T rich interaction domain (ARID). ARID proteins regulate early patterning and muscle fate in Drosophila, but they have not previously been implicated in the control of neuronal subtype identity. In the mammalian nervous system thousands of cell types can be distinguished based on position, gene expression, connectivity, and function. Even in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, where the nervous system is composed of only 302 neurons, these can be divided into at least 118 different classes (Sulston and Horvitz 1977;Sulston et al. 1983;White et al. 1986). How is this multitude of neuron types generated? Studies in mammals and in C. elegans suggest that lineage-intrinsic mechanisms are important for the generation of this diversity. Transcriptional regulators that are induced during early development play key roles in determining neuronal subtype identity (Sengupta and Bargmann 1996;Tanabe and Jessell 1996), and are expressed in complex, overlapping patterns.The expression of a particular repertoire of neuronspecific proteins results from the integration of functions of multiple transcription factors. In one well-characterized example, the hermaphrodite-specific neuron (HSN) of C. elegans, which regulates egg-laying, integrates inputs from the position of the cell, the sex of the animal, and its developmental state to achieve its terminally differentiated fate. These cues control HSN differentiation by regulating the expression of an assortment of specific transcriptional regulators. The HSN is born in the tail region of the animal (Sulston et al. 1983), and during embryogenesis its identity is specified, in part, by the tail-restricted homeodomain protein EGL-5 (Desai et al. 1988;Chisholm 1991). Appropriate expression of EGL-5 then allows the HSN to migrate from its early posterior position to its final medial position in the animal. At roughly the same time, the sex-determination pathway, in the form of the zinc-finger transcription factor TRA-1, regulates expression of the programmed cell death gene egl-1 to promote HSN survival in hermaphrodites and death in males (Conradt and Horvitz 1999). In the fourth larval stage (L4), inputs from genes that control developmental timing, such as the period-related gene lin-42, promote HSN terminal differentiation. The...

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Cell fate specification and differentiation in the nervous system ofCaenorhabditis elegans

Cited by 19 publications

References 65 publications

<em>C. elegans</em> Chemotaxis Assay

<em>C. elegans</em> Chemotaxis Assay

Genetic Models of Mechanotransduction: The NematodeCaenorhabditis elegans

Control of neuronal subtype identity by the C. elegans ARID protein CFI-1

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