An antagonistic role for the C-elegans Schnurri homolog SMA-9 in modulating TGF beta signaling during mesodermal patterning

作者：Foehr Marisa L; Lindy Amanda S; Fairbank Rachel C; Amin Nirav M; Xu Ming; Yanowitz Judith; Fire Andrew Z; Liu Jun^*

来源：Development, 2006, 133(15): 2887-2896.

DOI：10.1242/dev.02476

• mesoderm
• dorsoventral patterning
• M lineage
• TGF beta
• SMA-9
• Schnurri
• Sma/Mab
• dbl-1
• sma-2
• sma-3
• sma-4
• sma-6
• daf-4
• C. elegans

In C. elegans, the Sma/Mab TGF beta signaling pathway regulates body size and male tail patterning. SMA-9, the C. elegans homolog of Schnurri, has been shown to function as a downstream component to mediate the Sma/Mab TGF beta signaling pathway in these processes. We have discovered a new role for SMA-9 in dorsoventral patterning of the C. elegans post-embryonic mesoderm, the M lineage. In addition to a small body size, sma-9 mutant animals exhibit a dorsal-to-ventral fate transformation within the M lineage. This M lineage defect of sma-9 mutants is unique in that animals carrying mutations in all other known components of the TGF beta pathway exhibit no M lineage defects. Surprisingly, mutations in the core components of the Sma/Mab TGF beta signaling pathway suppressed the M lineage defects of sma-9 mutants without suppressing their body size defects. We show that this suppression specifically happens within the M lineage. Our studies have uncovered an unexpected role of SMA-9 in antagonizing the TGF beta signaling pathway during mesodermal patterning, suggesting a novel mode of function for the SMA-9/Schnurri family of proteins.

• 出版日期2006-8-1