Robert W Fernandez, Angelo J Digirolamo, Giulio Valperga, G Robert Aguilar, Laura Molina-García, Rinn M Kersh, Chen Wang, Karinna Pe, Yasmin H Ramadan, Curtis Loer, Arantza Barrios, Oliver Hobert
{"title":"Pervasive homeobox gene function in the male-specific nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans.","authors":"Robert W Fernandez, Angelo J Digirolamo, Giulio Valperga, G Robert Aguilar, Laura Molina-García, Rinn M Kersh, Chen Wang, Karinna Pe, Yasmin H Ramadan, Curtis Loer, Arantza Barrios, Oliver Hobert","doi":"10.1242/dev.204958","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We explore here how neuronal cell type diversity is genetically delineated in the context of the large, but poorly studied, male-specific nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Mostly during postembryonic development, the C. elegans male adds 93 male-specific neurons, falling into 25 cardinal classes, to the predominantly embryonically generated, sex-shared nervous system, comprising 294 neurons (116 cardinal classes). Using engineered reporter alleles, we investigate here the expression pattern of 40 of the 80 phylogenetically conserved C. elegans homeodomain proteins within the male-specific nervous system. Our analysis indicates that each individual neuron class is defined by unique combinations of homeodomain proteins and that the male-specific nervous system can be subdivided along the anterior/posterior axis in HOX cluster expression domains. Using a collection of newly available terminal fate markers, we undertake a mutant analysis of five homeobox genes (unc-30/Pitx, unc-42/Prop, lim-6/Lmx, lin-11/Lhx, ttx-1/Otx) and identify defects in cell fate specification and/or male copulatory defects in each of these mutant strains. Our analysis expands our understanding of the importance of homeobox genes in nervous system development and function.</p>","PeriodicalId":11375,"journal":{"name":"Development","volume":"152 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Development","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.204958","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/8/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We explore here how neuronal cell type diversity is genetically delineated in the context of the large, but poorly studied, male-specific nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Mostly during postembryonic development, the C. elegans male adds 93 male-specific neurons, falling into 25 cardinal classes, to the predominantly embryonically generated, sex-shared nervous system, comprising 294 neurons (116 cardinal classes). Using engineered reporter alleles, we investigate here the expression pattern of 40 of the 80 phylogenetically conserved C. elegans homeodomain proteins within the male-specific nervous system. Our analysis indicates that each individual neuron class is defined by unique combinations of homeodomain proteins and that the male-specific nervous system can be subdivided along the anterior/posterior axis in HOX cluster expression domains. Using a collection of newly available terminal fate markers, we undertake a mutant analysis of five homeobox genes (unc-30/Pitx, unc-42/Prop, lim-6/Lmx, lin-11/Lhx, ttx-1/Otx) and identify defects in cell fate specification and/or male copulatory defects in each of these mutant strains. Our analysis expands our understanding of the importance of homeobox genes in nervous system development and function.
期刊介绍：
Development’s scope covers all aspects of plant and animal development, including stem cell biology and regeneration. The single most important criterion for acceptance in Development is scientific excellence. Research papers (articles and reports) should therefore pose and test a significant hypothesis or address a significant question, and should provide novel perspectives that advance our understanding of development. We also encourage submission of papers that use computational methods or mathematical models to obtain significant new insights into developmental biology topics. Manuscripts that are descriptive in nature will be considered only when they lay important groundwork for a field and/or provide novel resources for understanding developmental processes of broad interest to the community.
Development includes a Techniques and Resources section for the publication of new methods, datasets, and other types of resources. Papers describing new techniques should include a proof-of-principle demonstration that the technique is valuable to the developmental biology community; they need not include in-depth follow-up analysis. The technique must be described in sufficient detail to be easily replicated by other investigators. Development will also consider protocol-type papers of exceptional interest to the community. We welcome submission of Resource papers, for example those reporting new databases, systems-level datasets, or genetic resources of major value to the developmental biology community. For all papers, the data or resource described must be made available to the community with minimal restrictions upon publication.
To aid navigability, Development has dedicated sections of the journal to stem cells & regeneration and to human development. The criteria for acceptance into these sections is identical to those outlined above. Authors and editors are encouraged to nominate appropriate manuscripts for inclusion in one of these sections.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
