The fully linked HTML version of this article has now been published.
Development ePress online publication date 17 Mar 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01055
Research article
Evolution of neural precursor selection: functional divergence of proneural proteins
Xiao-Jiang Quan,
Tinneke Denayer,
Jiekun Yan,
Hamed Jafar-Nejad,
Anne Philippi,
Olivier Lichtarge,
Kris Vleminckx,
and
Bassem A. Hassan*
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: bassem.hassan{at}med.kuleuven.ac.be)
How conserved pathways are differentially regulated to produce diverse outcomes is a fundamental question of developmental and evolutionary biology. The conserved process of neural precursor cell (NPC) selection by basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proneural transcription factors in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) by atonal related proteins (ARPs) presents an excellent model in which to address this issue. Proneural ARPs belong to two highly related groups: the ATONAL (ATO) group and the NEUROGENIN (NGN) group. We used a cross-species approach to demonstrate that the genetic and molecular mechanisms by which ATO proteins and NGN proteins select NPCs are different. Specifically, ATO group genes efficiently induce neurogenesis in Drosophila but very weakly in Xenopus, while the reverse is true for NGN group proteins. This divergence in proneural activity is encoded by three residues in the basic domain of ATO proteins. In NGN proteins, proneural capacity is encoded by the equivalent three residues in the basic domain and a novel motif in the second Helix (H2) domain. Differential interactions with different types of zinc (Zn)-finger proteins mediate the divergence of ATO and NGN activities: Senseless is required for ATO group activity, whereas MyT1 is required for NGN group function. These data suggest an evolutionary divergence in the mechanisms of NPC selection between protostomes and deuterostomes.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
B. Xie, M. Charlton-Perkins, E. McDonald, B. Gebelein, and T. Cook
Senseless functions as a molecular switch for color photoreceptor differentiation in Drosophila
Development,
December 1, 2007;
134(23):
4243 - 4253.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Flora, J. J. Garcia, C. Thaller, and H. Y. Zoghbi
The E-protein Tcf4 interacts with Math1 to regulate differentiation of a specific subset of neuronal progenitors
PNAS,
September 25, 2007;
104(39):
15382 - 15387.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Acar, H. Jafar-Nejad, N. Giagtzoglou, S. Yallampalli, G. David, Y. He, C. Delidakis, and H. J. Bellen
Senseless physically interacts with proneural proteins and functions as a transcriptional co-activator
Development,
May 15, 2006;
133(10):
1979 - 1989.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Jafar-Nejad, A.-C. Tien, M. Acar, and H. J. Bellen
Senseless and Daughterless confer neuronal identity to epithelial cells in the Drosophila wing margin
Development,
May 1, 2006;
133(9):
1683 - 1692.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Skowronska-Krawczyk, L. Matter-Sadzinski, M. Ballivet, and J.-M. Matter
The Basic Domain of ATH5 Mediates Neuron-Specific Promoter Activity during Retina Development
Mol. Cell. Biol.,
November 15, 2005;
25(22):
10029 - 10039.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Gu, D. H. Morgan, M. Sattar, X. Xu, R. Wagner, M. Raviscioni, O. Lichtarge, and A. J. Cooney
Evolutionary Trace-based Peptides Identify a Novel Asymmetric Interaction That Mediates Oligomerization in Nuclear Receptors
J. Biol. Chem.,
September 9, 2005;
280(36):
31818 - 31829.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Giagtzoglou, K. A. Koumbanakis, J. Fullard, I. Zarifi, and C. Delidakis
Role of the Sc C Terminus in Transcriptional Activation and E(spl) Repressor Recruitment
J. Biol. Chem.,
January 14, 2005;
280(2):
1299 - 1305.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Jafar-Nejad and H. J. Bellen
Gfi/Pag-3/Senseless Zinc Finger Proteins: a Unifying Theme?
Mol. Cell. Biol.,
October 15, 2004;
24(20):
8803 - 8812.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004
