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Visualization of the Axonal Projection Pattern of Embryonic Motor Neurons in Drosophila
Published on: June 16, 2017
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A transcription factor network coordinates attraction, repulsion, and adhesion combinatorially to control motor axon
Aref Arzan Zarin1, Jamshid Asadzadeh1, Karsten Hokamp2
1Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Neuron
|February 25, 2014
Summary
Transcription factors like Even-skipped (Eve) control nervous system wiring by regulating cell surface molecules. This study reveals how Eve and other TFs guide dorsal motor neuron axons in Drosophila.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Transcription factors (TFs) orchestrate complex developmental processes, including neural wiring.
- The precise mechanisms by which TFs regulate cell surface molecules crucial for axon guidance remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify membrane molecules controlled by the Even-skipped (Eve) TF in Drosophila.
- To elucidate how these Eve-regulated surface molecules mediate dorsal motor neuron (dMN) axon guidance.
Main Methods:
- mRNA profiling to identify Eve target membrane molecules.
- Combinatorial loss- and gain-of-function genetic analyses in Drosophila.
- Analysis of TF networks influencing guidance receptor and adhesion molecule expression.
Main Results:
- Identified membrane molecules regulated by the homeobox TF Eve.
- Demonstrated that attractive, repulsive, and adhesive molecules collectively direct eve-dependent dMN axon guidance.
- Showed that misexpressing Eve target genes can partially restore CNS exit and alter interneuron guidance.
Conclusions:
- A network of TFs (including eve, zfh1, and grain) induces guidance receptors (Unc5, Beaten-path) and adhesion molecules (Fasciclin 2, Neuroglian).
- This TF-mediated regulation of surface molecules is essential for guiding individual dMN axons in Drosophila.
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