QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online 3 November 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01447

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: dev.01447v1 131/23/5837    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miguel-Aliaga, I. Articles by Thor, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Miguel-Aliaga, I. Articles by Thor, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Independent roles of the dachshund and eyes absent genes in BMP signaling, axon pathfinding and neuronal specification

Irene Miguel-Aliaga^*, Douglas W. Allan and Stefan Thor^*,

Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Author for correspondence (e-mail: steth{at}ifm.liu.se)

Accepted 15 September 2004

In the Drosophila nerve cord, a subset of neurons expresses the neuropeptide FMRFamide related (Fmrf). Fmrf expression is controlled by a combinatorial code of intrinsic factors and an extrinsic BMP signal. However, this previously identified code does not fully explain the regulation of Fmrf. We have found that the Dachshund (Dac) and Eyes Absent (Eya) transcription co-factors participate in this combinatorial code. Previous studies have revealed an intimate link between Dac and Eya during eye development. Here, by analyzing their function in neurons with multiple phenotypic markers, we demonstrate that they play independent roles in neuronal specification, even within single cells. dac is required for high-level Fmrf expression, and acts potently together with apterous and BMP signaling to trigger Fmrf expression ectopically, even in motoneurons. By contrast, eya regulates Fmrf expression by controlling both axon pathfinding and BMP signaling, but cannot trigger Fmrf ectopically. Thus, we show that dac and eya perform entirely different functions in a single cell type to ultimately regulate a single phenotypic outcome.

Key words: Drosophila, dachshund, eyes absent, BMP signaling, Combinatorial code, FMRFamide, FMRFa

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. T. Eade and D. W. Allan Neuronal Phenotype in the Mature Nervous System Is Maintained by Persistent Retrograde Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling J. Neurosci., March 25, 2009; 29(12): 3852 - 3864. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Park, O. T. Shafer, S. P. Shepherd, H. Suh, J. S. Trigg, and P. H. Taghert The Drosophila Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Protein DIMMED Directly Activates PHM, a Gene Encoding a Neuropeptide-Amidating Enzyme Mol. Cell. Biol., January 1, 2008; 28(1): 410 - 421. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. A. Gauthier and R. S. Hewes Transcriptional regulation of neuropeptide and peptide hormone expression by the Drosophila dimmed and cryptocephal genes J. Exp. Biol., May 15, 2006; 209(10): 1803 - 1815. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]