A single gene target of an ETS-family transcription factor determines neuronal CO2-chemosensitivity

Many animals possess neurons specialized for the detection of carbon dioxide (CO(2)), which acts as a cue to elicit behavioral responses and is also an internally generated product of respiration that regulates animal physiology. In many organisms how such neurons detect CO(2) is poorly understood....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-03, Vol.7 (3), p.e34014
Main Authors: Brandt, Julia P, Aziz-Zaman, Sonya, Juozaityte, Vaida, Martinez-Velazquez, Luis A, Petersen, Jakob Gramstrup, Pocock, Roger, Ringstad, Niels
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Animal physiology
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Binding Sites
Biology
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - physiology
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide - chemistry
Carbon Dioxide - metabolism
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Detection
DNA
Drosophila
Drug dosages
ETS protein
Gene Deletion
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene families
Genomes
Guanylate cyclase
Guanylate Cyclase - metabolism
Insects
Localization
Medicine
Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods
Mutation
Nematodes
Neurobiology
Neurons
Neurons - metabolism
Neurosciences
Photoreceptors
Plasmids - metabolism
Proteins
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets - genetics
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets - metabolism
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ets - physiology
Receptors, Guanylate Cyclase-Coupled - genetics
Receptors, Guanylate Cyclase-Coupled - physiology
Sensory Receptor Cells - metabolism
Specifications
Transcription factors
Vertebrates
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Many animals possess neurons specialized for the detection of carbon dioxide (CO(2)), which acts as a cue to elicit behavioral responses and is also an internally generated product of respiration that regulates animal physiology. In many organisms how such neurons detect CO(2) is poorly understood. We report here a mechanism that endows C. elegans neurons with the ability to detect CO(2). The ETS-5 transcription factor is necessary for the specification of CO(2)-sensing BAG neurons. Expression of a single ETS-5 target gene, gcy-9, which encodes a receptor-type guanylate cyclase, is sufficient to bypass a requirement for ets-5 in CO(2)-detection and transforms neurons into CO(2)-sensing neurons. Because ETS-5 and GCY-9 are members of gene families that are conserved between nematodes and vertebrates, a similar mechanism might act in the specification of CO(2)-sensing neurons in other phyla.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0034014