Centre for Integrative Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK.
Dev Cell. 2012 Jun 12;22(6):1221-33. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2012.05.010.
Cilia have evolved hugely diverse structures and functions to participate in a wide variety of developmental and physiological processes. Ciliary specialization requires differences in gene expression, but few transcription factors are known to regulate this, and their molecular function is unclear. Here, we show that the Drosophila Forkhead box (Fox) gene, fd3F, is required for specialization of the mechanosensory cilium of chordotonal (Ch) neurons. fd3F regulates genes for Ch-specific axonemal dyneins and TRPV ion channels, which are required for sensory transduction, and retrograde transport genes, which are required to differentiate their distinct motile and sensory ciliary zones. fd3F is reminiscent of vertebrate Foxj1, a motile cilia regulator, but fd3F regulates motility genes as part of a broader sensory regulation program. Fd3F cooperates with the pan-ciliary transcription factor, Rfx, to regulate its targets directly. This illuminates pathways involved in ciliary specialization and the molecular mechanism of transcription factors that regulate them.
纤毛具有高度多样化的结构和功能，参与多种发育和生理过程。纤毛的特化需要基因表达的差异，但已知很少有转录因子来调节这一点，它们的分子功能尚不清楚。在这里，我们表明果蝇叉头框（Fox）基因 fd3F 是 chordotonal（Ch）神经元机械敏感纤毛特化所必需的。fd3F 调节 Ch 特异性轴丝动力蛋白和 TRPV 离子通道的基因，这些基因对于感觉转导是必需的，而逆行运输基因对于区分其不同的运动和感觉纤毛区也是必需的。fd3F 类似于脊椎动物 Foxj1，是一种运动纤毛调节因子，但 fd3F 将运动基因作为更广泛的感觉调节程序的一部分进行调节。Fd3F 与泛纤毛转录因子 Rfx 合作，直接调节其靶基因。这揭示了纤毛特化的途径以及调节它们的转录因子的分子机制。
