A Single Gene Target of an ETS-Family Transcription Factor Determines Neuronal CO2-Chemosensitivity

作者：Brandt Julia P^*; Aziz Zaman Sonya; Juozaityte Vaida; Martinez Velazquez Luis A; Petersen Jakob Gramstrup; Pocock Roger; Ringstad Niels

来源：PLos One, 2012, 7(3): e34014.

DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0034014

Many animals possess neurons specialized for the detection of carbon dioxide (CO2), 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 CO2 is poorly understood. We report here a mechanism that endows C. elegans neurons with the ability to detect CO2. The ETS-5 transcription factor is necessary for the specification of CO2-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 CO2-detection and transforms neurons into CO2-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 CO2-sensing neurons in other phyla.

• 出版日期2012-3-29