TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulators acting in combinatorial codes also act independently in single differentiating neurons
AU - Allan, Douglas W.
AU - Park, Dongkook
AU - St. Pierre, Susan E.
AU - Taghert, Paul H.
AU - Thor, Stefan
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank D. Rowitch, J. Skeath, and D. Schmucker for critically reading the manuscript. We thank Dick Nassel, John Ewer, Dale Dorsett, Claire Cronmiller, the Bloomington Stock Center, and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Center for sharing fly lines, plasmids, and antibodies. We thank Hwantae Park for advice with biochemistry and Weihua Li for technical assistance. Confocal imaging was performed at the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair and the Washington University Bakewell Center for Neuroimaging. This work was supported by grants from the Freudenberger Scholarship Fund at Harvard Medical School (S.T.) and by the National Institutes of Health (NIH-NS21749) (P.H.T.).
PY - 2005/3/3
Y1 - 2005/3/3
N2 - In the Drosophila ventral nerve cord, a small number of neurons express the LIM-homeodomain gene apterous (ap). These ap neurons can be subdivided based upon axon pathfinding and their expression of neuropeptidergic markers. ap, the zinc finger gene squeeze, the bHLH gene dimmed, and the BMP pathway are all required for proper specification of these cells. Here, using several ap neuron terminal differentiation markers, we have resolved how each of these factors contributes to ap neuron diversity. We find that these factors interact genetically and biochemically in subtype-specific combinatorial codes to determine certain defining aspects of ap neuron subtype identity. However, we also find that ap, dimmed, and squeeze additionally act independently of one another to specify certain other defining aspects of ap neuron subtype identity. Therefore, within single neurons, we show that single regulators acting in numerous molecular contexts differentially specify multiple subtype-specific traits.
AB - In the Drosophila ventral nerve cord, a small number of neurons express the LIM-homeodomain gene apterous (ap). These ap neurons can be subdivided based upon axon pathfinding and their expression of neuropeptidergic markers. ap, the zinc finger gene squeeze, the bHLH gene dimmed, and the BMP pathway are all required for proper specification of these cells. Here, using several ap neuron terminal differentiation markers, we have resolved how each of these factors contributes to ap neuron diversity. We find that these factors interact genetically and biochemically in subtype-specific combinatorial codes to determine certain defining aspects of ap neuron subtype identity. However, we also find that ap, dimmed, and squeeze additionally act independently of one another to specify certain other defining aspects of ap neuron subtype identity. Therefore, within single neurons, we show that single regulators acting in numerous molecular contexts differentially specify multiple subtype-specific traits.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=14644420155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.01.026
DO - 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.01.026
M3 - Article
C2 - 15748845
AN - SCOPUS:14644420155
SN - 0896-6273
VL - 45
SP - 689
EP - 700
JO - Neuron
JF - Neuron
IS - 5
ER -