Nolan Katherine M, Sarafi-Reinach Trina R, Horne Jennifer G, Saffer Adam M, Sengupta Piali
Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA.
Genes Dev. 2002 Dec 1;16(23):3061-73. doi: 10.1101/gad.1027702.
Regulation of chemoreceptor gene expression in response to environmental or developmental cues provides a mechanism by which animals can alter their sensory responses. Here we demonstrate a role for the daf-7 TGF-beta pathway in the regulation of expression of a subset of chemoreceptor genes in Caenorhabditis elegans. We describe a novel role of this pathway in maintaining receptor gene expression in the adult and show that the DAF-4 type II TGF-beta receptor functions cell-autonomously to modulate chemoreceptor expression. We also find that the alteration of receptor gene expression in the ASI chemosensory neurons by environmental signals, such as levels of a constitutively produced pheromone, may be mediated via a DAF-7-independent pathway. Receptor gene expression in the ASI and ASH sensory neurons appears to be regulated via distinct mechanisms. Our results suggest that the expression of individual chemoreceptor genes in C. elegans is subject to multiple modes of regulation, thereby ensuring that animals exhibit the responses most appropriate for their developmental stage and environmental conditions.
动物通过调节化学感受器基因表达以响应环境或发育线索，从而改变其感官反应。在此，我们证明了秀丽隐杆线虫中daf-7 TGF-β信号通路在调节一部分化学感受器基因表达中的作用。我们描述了该信号通路在维持成虫受体基因表达中的新作用，并表明DAF-4 II型TGF-β受体在细胞自主调节化学感受器表达中发挥作用。我们还发现，环境信号（如组成型分泌的信息素水平）对ASI化学感受神经元中受体基因表达的改变可能通过一条不依赖DAF-7的信号通路介导。ASI和ASH感觉神经元中的受体基因表达似乎通过不同机制进行调节。我们的结果表明，秀丽隐杆线虫中单个化学感受器基因的表达受到多种调节模式的影响，从而确保动物表现出最适合其发育阶段和环境条件的反应。
