Caenorhabditis elegans sine oculis/SIX-type homeobox genes act as homeotic switches to define neuronal subtype identities.

ABSTRACT: The classification of neurons into distinct types reveals hierarchical taxonomic relationships that reflect the extent of similarity between neuronal cell types. At the base of such taxonomies are neuronal cells that are very similar to one another but differ in a small number of reproducible and select features. How are very similar members of a neuron class that share many features instructed to diversify into distinct subclasses? We show here that the six very similar members of the Caenorhabditis elegans IL2 sensory neuron class, which are all specified by a homeobox terminal selector, unc-86/BRN3, differentiate into two subtly distinct subclasses, a dorsoventral subclass and a lateral subclass, by the toggle switch-like action of the sine oculis/SIX homeobox gene unc-

SUBMITTER: Cros C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9478639 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature