RRC ID 30653
Author Serrano-Saiz E, Poole RJ, Felton T, Zhang F, De La Cruz ED, Hobert O.
Title Modular control of glutamatergic neuronal identity in C. elegans by distinct homeodomain proteins.
Journal Cell
Abstract The choice of using one of many possible neurotransmitter systems is a critical step in defining the identity of an individual neuron type. We show here that the key defining feature of glutamatergic neurons, the vesicular glutamate transporter EAT-4/VGLUT, is expressed in 38 of the 118 anatomically defined neuron classes of the C. elegans nervous system. We show that distinct cis-regulatory modules drive expression of eat-4/VGLUT in distinct glutamatergic neuron classes. We identify 13 different transcription factors, 11 of them homeodomain proteins, that act in distinct combinations in 25 different glutamatergic neuron classes to initiate and maintain eat-4/VGLUT expression. We show that the adoption of a glutamatergic phenotype is linked to the adoption of other terminal identity features of a neuron, including cotransmitter phenotypes. Examination of mouse orthologs of these homeodomain proteins resulted in the identification of mouse LHX1 as a regulator of glutamatergic neurons in the brainstem.
Volume 155(3)
Pages 659-73
Published 2013-10-24
DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2013.09.052
PII S0092-8674(13)01226-9
PMID 24243022
PMC PMC3855022
MeSH Animals Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology* Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism* Homeodomain Proteins / metabolism* Mice Neurons / classification Neurons / cytology* Neurons / metabolism* Receptors, Glutamate / metabolism* Sensory Receptor Cells / metabolism Transcription Factors / metabolism Vesicular Glutamate Transport Proteins
IF 38.637
Times Cited 107
WOS Category BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY CELL BIOLOGY
Resource
C.elegans tm1734