SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development.
Development of multicellular organisms requires well-orchestrated interplay between cell-intrinsic transcription factors and cell-cell signaling. One set of highly conserved transcription factors that plays diverse roles in development is the SoxC group. C. elegans contains a sole SoxC protein, SEM-...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS Genetics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011361 |
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| author | Marissa Baccas Vanathi Ganesan Amy Leung Lucas R Pineiro Alexandra N McKillop Jun Liu |
| author_facet | Marissa Baccas Vanathi Ganesan Amy Leung Lucas R Pineiro Alexandra N McKillop Jun Liu |
| author_sort | Marissa Baccas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Development of multicellular organisms requires well-orchestrated interplay between cell-intrinsic transcription factors and cell-cell signaling. One set of highly conserved transcription factors that plays diverse roles in development is the SoxC group. C. elegans contains a sole SoxC protein, SEM-2. SEM-2 is essential for embryonic development, and for specifying the sex myoblast (SM) fate in the postembryonic mesoderm, the M lineage. We have identified a novel partial loss-of-function sem-2 allele that has a proline to serine change in the C-terminal tail of the highly conserved DNA-binding domain. Detailed analyses of mutant animals harboring this point mutation uncovered new functions of SEM-2 in the M lineage. First, SEM-2 functions antagonistically with LET-381, the sole C. elegans FoxF/C forkhead transcription factor, to regulate dorsoventral patterning of the M lineage. Second, in addition to specifying the SM fate, SEM-2 is essential for the proliferation and diversification of the SM lineage. Finally, SEM-2 appears to directly regulate the expression of hlh-8, which encodes a basic helix-loop-helix Twist transcription factor and plays critical roles in proper patterning of the M lineage. Our data, along with previous studies, suggest an evolutionarily conserved relationship between SoxC and Twist proteins. Furthermore, our work identified new interactions in the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying C. elegans postembryonic development and adds to the general understanding of the structure-function relationship of SoxC proteins. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-75120284a5a74d8c80e6dc9fdc94683b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1553-7390 1553-7404 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
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| series | PLoS Genetics |
| spelling | doaj-art-75120284a5a74d8c80e6dc9fdc94683b2025-02-06T05:30:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042025-01-01211e101136110.1371/journal.pgen.1011361SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development.Marissa BaccasVanathi GanesanAmy LeungLucas R PineiroAlexandra N McKillopJun LiuDevelopment of multicellular organisms requires well-orchestrated interplay between cell-intrinsic transcription factors and cell-cell signaling. One set of highly conserved transcription factors that plays diverse roles in development is the SoxC group. C. elegans contains a sole SoxC protein, SEM-2. SEM-2 is essential for embryonic development, and for specifying the sex myoblast (SM) fate in the postembryonic mesoderm, the M lineage. We have identified a novel partial loss-of-function sem-2 allele that has a proline to serine change in the C-terminal tail of the highly conserved DNA-binding domain. Detailed analyses of mutant animals harboring this point mutation uncovered new functions of SEM-2 in the M lineage. First, SEM-2 functions antagonistically with LET-381, the sole C. elegans FoxF/C forkhead transcription factor, to regulate dorsoventral patterning of the M lineage. Second, in addition to specifying the SM fate, SEM-2 is essential for the proliferation and diversification of the SM lineage. Finally, SEM-2 appears to directly regulate the expression of hlh-8, which encodes a basic helix-loop-helix Twist transcription factor and plays critical roles in proper patterning of the M lineage. Our data, along with previous studies, suggest an evolutionarily conserved relationship between SoxC and Twist proteins. Furthermore, our work identified new interactions in the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying C. elegans postembryonic development and adds to the general understanding of the structure-function relationship of SoxC proteins.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011361 |
| spellingShingle | Marissa Baccas Vanathi Ganesan Amy Leung Lucas R Pineiro Alexandra N McKillop Jun Liu SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. PLoS Genetics |
| title | SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. |
| title_full | SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. |
| title_fullStr | SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. |
| title_full_unstemmed | SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. |
| title_short | SEM-2/SoxC regulates multiple aspects of C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm development. |
| title_sort | sem 2 soxc regulates multiple aspects of c elegans postembryonic mesoderm development |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011361 |
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