DBL-1/BMP target genes and sma-9 function in C. elegans
Item
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Title
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DBL-1/BMP target genes and sma-9 function in C. elegans
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:8be79a669d8f:10957
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identifier
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11123
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Creator
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Yin, Jianghua,
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Contributor
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Cathy Savage-Dunn
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Biochemistry | Genetics | BMP | Body size | C. elegans | Small | TGF beta
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Abstract
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Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling regulates a large number of biological processes including cell proliferation, lineage determination, differentiation, motility, adhesion, and death. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the DBL-1 pathway, a BMP-related signaling pathway, regulates body size and male tail development. A Drosophila Schnurri homolog, sma-9, acts as a transcription cofactor in the DBL-1 pathway (Liang et al., 2003). By comparing gene expression profiles of sma-9 and dbl-1 mutants to wild type animals, we found that DBL-1/BMP signaling pathway regulates a large number of target genes including collagen genes, transcription factors, genes involved in innate immunity, dauer and aging genes (Liang et al., 2007). Here, we have verified a series of potential target genes and their involvement in body size regulation. T27F2.4, a blip transcription factor, is expressed in intestine and neurons, is negatively regulated by DBL-1/BMP signaling and inhibits growth. col-41, a type IV cuticle collagen gene, is expressed in hypodermis, is positively regulated by DBL-1/BMP signaling and promotes normal growth. col-41 promoter analysis indicates that the first 500bp promoter region is essential for its basal level expression, but does not contain the cis-regulatory elements responsible for sma-9 regulation. The regulation of col-41 by sma-9 in vivo could be a combination of direct and indirect effects. In addition to T27F2.4 and col-41, we have also identified other target genes responsive to DBL-1/BMP signaling, which greatly expands the potential toolkit of reporters for further analysis of DBL-1/BMP signaling.;The sma-9 locus in vivo undergoes alternative splicing, including an unusual trans-splicing event that could generate two non-overlapping shorter transcripts. We have demonstrated that the shorter transcripts are expressed in vivo. Furthermore, we find that one of the short transcripts plays a tissue-specific role in sma-9 function, contributing to the patterning of male-specific sensory rays, but not to the regulation of body size. Based on previous results, we suggest that this transcript encodes a C-terminal SMA-9 isoform that may provide transcriptional activation activity, while full length isoforms may mediate transcriptional repression.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Biochemistry
