Abstract
In Caenorhabditis elegans, the DBL-1 pathway, a BMP/TGFβ-related signaling cascade, regulates body size and male tail development. We have cloned a new gene, sma-9, that encodes the C. elegans homolog of Schnurri, a large zinc finger transcription factor that regulates dpp target genes in Drosophila. Genetic interactions, the sma-9 loss-of-function phenotype, and the expression pattern suggest that sma-9 acts as a downstream component and is required in the DBL-1 signaling pathway, and thus provide the first evidence of a conserved role for Schnurri proteins in BMP signaling. Analysis of sma-9 mutant phenotypes demonstrates that SMA-9 activity is temporally and spatially restricted relative to known DBL-1 pathway components. In contrast with Drosophila schnurri, the presence of multiple alternatively spliced sma-9 transcripts suggests protein isoforms with potentially different cell sublocalization and molecular functions. We propose that SMA-9 isoforms function as transcriptional cofactors that confer specific responses to DBL-1 pathway activation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 6453-6464 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Development |
Volume | 130 |
Issue number | 26 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2003 |
Keywords
- Alternative splicing
- BMP
- Body size
- Pattern formation
- Schnurri
- Transcription factor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology