ming is expressed in neuroblast sublineages and regulates gene expression in the Drosophila central nervous system

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Cui ◽  
C.Q. Doe
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Cell Lineage ◽  
Cell Lineages ◽  
Finger Protein ◽  
Cell Diversity

Cell diversity in the Drosophila central nervous system (CNS) is primarily generated by the invariant lineage of neural precursors called neuroblasts. We used an enhancer trap screen to identify the ming gene, which is transiently expressed in a subset of neuroblasts at reproducible points in their cell lineage (i.e. in neuroblast ‘sublineages’), suggesting that neuroblast identity can be altered during its cell lineage. ming encodes a predicted zinc finger protein and loss of ming function results in precise alterations in CNS gene expression, defects in axonogenesis and embryonic lethality. We propose that ming controls cell fate within neuroblast cell lineages.

Gene Therapy for Traumatic Central Nervous System Injury and Stroke Using an Engineered Zinc Finger Protein that Upregulates VEGF-A

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1863-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe M. D'Onofrio ◽  
Mahinthan Thayapararajah ◽  
Meghan D. Lysko ◽  
Mark Magharious ◽  
S. Kaye Spratt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Central Nervous System Injury ◽  
Finger Protein

The differentiation of the serotonergic neurons in the Drosophila ventral nerve cord depends on the combined function of the zinc finger proteins Eagle and Huckebein

Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (13) ◽  
pp. 2515-2525 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Dittrich ◽  
T. Bossing ◽  
A.P. Gould ◽  
G.M. Technau ◽  
J. Urban
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Nerve Cord ◽  
Ventral Nerve Cord ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Ectopic Expression ◽  
Cell Lineage ◽  
Lineage Tracing ◽  
Serotonergic Neurons ◽  
Finger Protein

The Drosophila ventral nerve cord (vNC) derives from a stereotyped population of neural stem cells, neuroblasts (NBs), each of which gives rise to a characteristic cell lineage. The mechanisms leading to the specification and differentiation of these lineages are largely unknown. Here we analyse mechanisms leading to cell differentiation within the NB 7–3 lineage. Analogous to the grasshopper, NB 7–3 is the progenitor of the Drosophila vNC serotonergic neurons. The zinc finger protein Eagle (Eg) is expressed in NB 7–3 just after delamination and is present in all NB 7–3 progeny until late stage 17. DiI cell lineage tracing and immunocytochemistry reveal that eg is required for normal pathfinding of interneuronal projections and for restricting the cell number in the thoracic NB 7–3 lineage. Moreover, eg is required for serotonin expression. Ectopic expression of Eg protein forces specific additional CNS cells to enter the serotonergic differentiation pathway. Like NB 7–3, the progenitor(s) of these ectopic cells express Huckebein (Hkb), another zinc finger protein. However, their progenitors do not express engrailed (en) as opposed to the NB 7–3 lineage, where en acts upstream of eg. We conclude that eg and hkb act in concert to determine serotonergic cell fate, while en is more distantly involved in this process by activating eg expression. Thus, we provide the first functional evidence for a combinatorial code of transcription factors acting early but downstream of segment polarity genes to specify a unique neuronal cell fate.

scholarly journals Ectopic targeting of CG DNA methylation in Arabidopsis with the bacterial SssI methyltransferase

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanlu Liu ◽  
Javier Gallego-Bartolomé ◽  
Yuxing Zhou ◽  
Zhenhui Zhong ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Crop Plant ◽  
Open Chromatin ◽  
Histone Marks ◽  
It Impacts ◽  
Finger Protein

AbstractThe ability to target epigenetic marks like DNA methylation to specific loci is important in both basic research and in crop plant engineering. However, heritability of targeted DNA methylation, how it impacts gene expression, and which epigenetic features are required for proper establishment are mostly unknown. Here, we show that targeting the CG-specific methyltransferase M.SssI with an artificial zinc finger protein can establish heritable CG methylation and silencing of a targeted locus in Arabidopsis. In addition, we observe highly heritable widespread ectopic CG methylation mainly over euchromatic regions. This hypermethylation shows little effect on transcription while it triggers a mild but significant reduction in the accumulation of H2A.Z and H3K27me3. Moreover, ectopic methylation occurs preferentially at less open chromatin that lacks positive histone marks. These results outline general principles of the heritability and interaction of CG methylation with other epigenomic features that should help guide future efforts to engineer epigenomes.

The zinc finger protein EGR-1 is an important activator of IL-2 gene expression

1997 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 348
Author(s):  
E.L. Decker ◽  
C. Skerka ◽  
P.F. Zipfel
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Finger Protein

scholarly journals The Cardiac Tissue-Restricted Homeobox Protein Csx/Nkx2.5 Physically Associates with the Zinc Finger Protein GATA4 and Cooperatively Activates Atrial Natriuretic Factor Gene Expression

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3120-3129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngsook Lee ◽  
Tetsuo Shioi ◽  
Hideko Kasahara ◽  
Shawn M. Jobe ◽  
Russell J. Wiese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Protein Interaction ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Atrial Natriuretic Factor ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Cardiac Tissue ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Finger Protein ◽  
Homeobox Protein

ABSTRACT Specification and differentiation of the cardiac muscle lineage appear to require a combinatorial network of many factors. The cardiac muscle-restricted homeobox protein Csx/Nkx2.5 (Csx) is expressed in the precardiac mesoderm as well as the embryonic and adult heart. Targeted disruption of Csx causes embryonic lethality due to abnormal heart morphogenesis. The zinc finger transcription factor GATA4 is also expressed in the heart and has been shown to be essential for heart tube formation. GATA4 is known to activate many cardiac tissue-restricted genes. In this study, we tested whether Csx and GATA4 physically associate and cooperatively activate transcription of a target gene. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrate that Csx and GATA4 associate intracellularly. Interestingly, in vitro protein-protein interaction studies indicate that helix III of the homeodomain of Csx is required to interact with GATA4 and that the carboxy-terminal zinc finger of GATA4 is necessary to associate with Csx. Both regions are known to directly contact the cognate DNA sequences. The promoter-enhancer region of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) contains several putative Csx binding sites and consensus GATA4 binding sites. Transient-transfection assays indicate that Csx can activate ANF reporter gene expression to the same extent that GATA4 does in a DNA binding site-dependent manner. Coexpression of Csx and GATA4 synergistically activates ANF reporter gene expression. Mutational analyses suggest that this synergy requires both factors to fully retain their transcriptional activities, including the cofactor binding activity. These results demonstrate the first example of homeoprotein and zinc finger protein interaction in vertebrates to cooperatively regulate target gene expression. Such synergistic interaction among tissue-restricted transcription factors may be an important mechanism to reinforce tissue-specific developmental pathways.

Molecular markers for identified neuroblasts and ganglion mother cells in the Drosophila central nervous system

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.Q. Doe
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cell Lineage ◽  
Neural Precursor Cells ◽  
Neural Precursor ◽  
Cell Lineages ◽  
Early Neurogenesis ◽  
Lineage Markers ◽  
Mother Cells ◽  
Thoracic And Abdominal

The first step in generating cellular diversity in the Drosophila central nervous system is the formation of a segmentally reiterated array of neural precursor cells, called neuroblasts. Subsequently, each neuroblast goes through an invariant cell lineage to generate neurons and/or glia. Using molecular lineage markers, I show that (1) each neuroblast forms at a stereotyped time and position; (2) the neuroblast pattern is indistinguishable between thoracic and abdominal segments; (3) the development of individual neuroblasts can be followed throughout early neurogenesis; (4) gene expression in a neuroblast can be reproducibly modulated during its cell lineage; (5) identified ganglion mother cells form at stereotyped times and positions; and (6) the cell lineage of four well-characterized neurons can be traced back to two identified neuroblasts. These results set the stage for investigating neuroblast specification and the mechanisms controlling neuroblast cell lineages.

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