HLH-14 is a C. elegans achaete-scute protein that promotes neurogenesis through asymmetric cell division

C Andrew Frank; Paul D Baum; Gian Garriga

doi:10.1242/dev.00894

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HLH-14 is a C. elegans achaete-scute protein that promotes neurogenesis through asymmetric cell division

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

HLH-14 is a C. elegans achaete-scute protein that promotes neurogenesis through asymmetric cell division

C Andrew Frank, Paul D Baum and Gian Garriga

Development (Cambridge), Vol.130(26), pp.6507-6518

12/2003

DOI: 10.1242/dev.00894

PMID: 14627726

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Abstract

Achaete-Scute basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins promote neurogenesis during metazoan development. In this study, we characterize a C. elegans Achaete-Scute homolog, HLH-14. We find that a number of neuroblasts express HLH-14 in the C. elegans embryo, including the PVQ/HSN/PHB neuroblast, a cell that generates the PVQ interneuron, the HSN motoneuron and the PHB sensory neuron. hlh-14 mutants lack all three of these neurons. The fact that HLH-14 promotes all three classes of neuron indicates that C. elegans proneural bHLH factors may act less specifically than their fly and mammalian homologs. Furthermore, neural loss in hlh-14 mutants results from a defect in an asymmetric cell division: the PVQ/HSN/PHB neuroblast inappropriately assumes characteristics of its sister cell, the hyp7/T blast cell. We argue that bHLH proteins, which control various aspects of metazoan development, can control cell fate choices in C. elegans by regulating asymmetric cell divisions. Finally, a reduction in the function of hlh-2, which encodes the C. elegans E/Daughterless bHLH homolog, results in similar neuron loss as hlh-14 mutants and enhances the effects of partially reducing hlh-14 function. We propose that HLH-14 and HLH-2 act together to specify neuroblast lineages and promote neuronal fate.

Multigene Family

Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism

Molecular Sequence Data

Neurons - cytology

Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs

Base Sequence

Gene Deletion

Motor Neurons - cytology

Neurons - physiology

Polymerase Chain Reaction

Conserved Sequence

Embryo, Nonmammalian - physiology

Nervous System - embryology

Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors

Amino Acid Sequence

Nervous System - cytology

Neurons, Afferent - cytology

Motor Neurons - physiology

Animals, Genetically Modified

Transcription Factors - genetics

Caenorhabditis elegans - embryology

DNA Primers

Neurons, Afferent - physiology

Cell Division - physiology

Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Transcription Factors - metabolism

Sequence Alignment

Animals

Body Patterning - genetics

Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics

Details

Title: Subtitle: HLH-14 is a C. elegans achaete-scute protein that promotes neurogenesis through asymmetric cell division
Creators: C Andrew Frank - Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3204, USA
Paul D Baum
Gian Garriga
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Development (Cambridge), Vol.130(26), pp.6507-6518
Publisher: England
DOI: 10.1242/dev.00894
PMID: 14627726
ISSN: 0950-1991
eISSN: 1477-9129
Grant note: NS42213 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 12/2003
Academic Unit: Anatomy and Cell Biology; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984025370502771

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