Work

Nuclear receptor NR4A is required for patterning at the ends of the planarian anterior-posterior axis

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Positional information is fundamental to animal regeneration and tissue turnover. In planarians, muscle cells express signaling molecules to promote positional identity. At the ends of the anterior-posterior (AP) axis, positional identity is determined by anterior and posterior poles, which are putative organizers. We identified a gene, nr4A, that is required for anterior- and posterior-pole localization to axis extremes. nr4A encodes a nuclear receptor expressed predominantly in planarian muscle, including strongly at AP-axis ends and the poles. nr4A RNAi causes patterning gene expression domains to retract from head and tail tips, and ectopic anterior and posterior anatomy (e.g., eyes) to iteratively appear more internally. Our study reveals a novel patterning phenotype, in which pattern-organizing cells (poles) shift from their normal locations (axis extremes), triggering abnormal tissue pattern that fails to reach equilibrium. We propose that nr4A promotes pattern at planarian AP axis ends through restriction of patterning gene expression domains.

Source: eLife

DOI: 10.7554/elife.42015

Authors: Dayan J Li, Conor L McMann, Peter W Reddien

Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,500

Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences