Pioneer Axon Guidance by UNC-129, a C. elegans TGF-β

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 281; no. 5377; pp. 706 - 709
• Main Authors: Colavita, Antonio, Krishna, Srikant, Zheng, Hong, Padgett, Richard W., Culotti, Joseph G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 31.07.1998; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animal migration behavior; Animals; Axons; Axons - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Patterning; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans - growth & development; Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Cell Movement; Cellular biology; Cellular signal transduction; Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids; Coding; Complementary DNA; Cosmids; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Genomics; Growth cones; Guidance; Helminth Proteins - chemistry; Helminth Proteins - genetics; Helminth Proteins - physiology; Integument; Invertebrata; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Membrane Proteins - physiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Motor Neurons - physiology; Muscles - metabolism; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Netrins; Neurons; Promoter regions; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Receptors, Cell Surface; Receptors, Growth Factor - genetics; Receptors, Growth Factor - physiology; Sequence Deletion; Signal Transduction; Transforming Growth Factor beta - chemistry; Transforming Growth Factor beta - genetics; Transforming Growth Factor beta - physiology; Untranslated regions; Peripheral nervous system; Nucleotide sequence; Transforming growth factor β; Axon; Homology; Motor neuron; Gene expression; Dorsoventral axis; Guidance; Caenorhabditis elegans; Cell motility; Gene; Helmintha; Development; Nemathelminthia; Mutation; Invertebrata; Nematoda
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5377.706

The unc-129 gene, like the unc-6 netrin gene, is required to guide pioneer motoraxons along the dorsoventral axis of Caenorhabditis elegans. unc-129 encodes a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily of secreted signaling molecules and is expressed in dorsal, but not ventral, rows of body wall muscles. Ectopic expression of UNC-129 from ventral body wall muscle disrupts growth cone and cell migrations that normally occur along the dorsoventral axis. Thus, UNC-129 mediates expression of dorsoventral polarity information required for axon guidance and guided cell migrations in C. elegans.