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

First published online 29 September 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01394

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material All Versions of this Article: dev.01394v1 131/21/5233    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development 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 Broihier, H. T. Articles by Skeath, J. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Broihier, H. T. Articles by Skeath, J. B.

Drosophila homeodomain protein Nkx6 coordinates motoneuron subtype identity and axonogenesis

Heather T. Broihier^1,*,,, Alexander Kuzin^2,, Yi Zhu¹, Ward Odenwald² and James B. Skeath¹

¹ Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4566 Scott Avenue, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
² Neural Cell-Fate Determinants Section, NINDS, NIH, 36 Convent Drive MSC 4130, Bethesda, MD 20892-4130, USA

Author for correspondence (e-mail: heather.broihier{at}case.edu)

Accepted 11 August 2004

The regulatory networks acting in individual neurons to control their stereotyped differentiation, connectivity, and function are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that homeodomain protein Nkx6 is a key member of the genetic network of transcription factors that specifies neuronal fates in Drosophila. Nkx6 collaborates with the homeodomain protein Hb9 to specify ventrally projecting motoneuron fate and to repress dorsally projecting motoneuron fate. While Nkx6 acts in parallel with hb9 to regulate motoneuron fate, we find that Nkx6 plays a distinct role to promote axonogenesis, as axon growth of Nkx6-positive motoneurons is severely compromised in Nkx6 mutant embryos. Furthermore, Nkx6 is necessary for the expression of the neural adhesion molecule Fasciclin III in Nkx6-positive motoneurons. Thus, this work demonstrates that Nkx6 acts in a specific neuronal population to link neuronal subtype identity to neuronal morphology and connectivity.

Key words: Drosophila melanogaster, Neuronal fate specification, Motoneurons, Interneurons, Axon outgrowth, Nkx6, hb9 (exex), lim3, islet, eve, vnd

Related articles in Development:

Nkx6: specifying neural fate for millions of years

Development 2004 131: e2104. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. Lee, T. J. Petros, and C. A. Mason Zic2 Regulates Retinal Ganglion Cell Axon Avoidance of ephrinB2 through Inducing Expression of the Guidance Receptor EphB1 J. Neurosci., June 4, 2008; 28(23): 5910 - 5919. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Garcia-Frigola, M. I. Carreres, C. Vegar, C. Mason, and E. Herrera Zic2 promotes axonal divergence at the optic chiasm midline by EphB1-dependent and -independent mechanisms Development, May 15, 2008; 135(10): 1833 - 1841. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. Miller, A. Page-McCaw, and H. T. Broihier Matrix metalloproteinases promote motor axon fasciculation in the Drosophila embryo Development, January 1, 2008; 135(1): 95 - 109. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. E. Von Stetina, R. M. Fox, K. L. Watkins, T. A. Starich, J. E. Shaw, and D. M. Miller III UNC-4 represses CEH-12/HB9 to specify synaptic inputs to VA motor neurons in C. elegans Genes & Dev., February 1, 2007; 21(3): 332 - 346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. J. Butler and G. Tear Getting axons onto the right path: the role of transcription factors in axon guidance Development, February 1, 2007; 134(3): 439 - 448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. K. Dillon, S. C. Fujita, M. P. Matise, A. A. Jarjour, T. E. Kennedy, H. Kollmus, H.-H. Arnold, J. A. Weiner, J. R. Sanes, and Z. Kaprielian Molecular Control of Spinal Accessory Motor Neuron/Axon Development in the Mouse Spinal Cord J. Neurosci., November 2, 2005; 25(44): 10119 - 10130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]