Divergent Hox Coding and Evasion of Retinoid Signaling Specifies Motor Neurons Innervating Digit Muscles.

ABSTRACT: The establishment of spinal motor neuron subclass diversity is achieved through developmental programs that are aligned with the organization of muscle targets in the limb. The evolutionary emergence of digits represents a specialized adaptation of limb morphology, yet it remains unclear how the specification of digit-innervating motor neuron subtypes parallels the elaboration of digits. We show that digit-innervating motor neurons can be defined by selective gene markers and distinguished from other LMC neurons by the expression of a variant Hox gene repertoire and by the failure to express a key enzyme involved in retinoic acid synthesis. This divergent developmental program is sufficient to induce the specification of digit-innervating motor neurons, emphasizing the specialized status o

SUBMITTER: Mendelsohn AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5325683 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature