Restriction of mesendoderm to a single blastomere by the combined action of SKN-1 and a GSK-3beta homolog is mediated by MED-1 and -2 in C. elegans.

TitleRestriction of mesendoderm to a single blastomere by the combined action of SKN-1 and a GSK-3beta homolog is mediated by MED-1 and -2 in C. elegans.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2001
AuthorsMaduro MF, Meneghini MD, Bowerman B, Broitman-Maduro G, Rothman JH
JournalMol Cell
Volume7
Issue3
Pagination475-85
Date Published2001 Mar
ISSN1097-2765
KeywordsAmino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Blastomeres, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases, Carrier Proteins, Cell Differentiation, Cell Lineage, Cloning, Molecular, DNA, DNA-Binding Proteins, Endoderm, Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors, GATA Transcription Factors, Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3, Helminth Proteins, Mesoderm, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Signal Transduction, Stem Cells, Transcription Factors, Wnt Proteins, Zebrafish Proteins
Abstract

The endoderm and much of the mesoderm arise from the EMS cell in the four-cell C. elegans embryo. We report that the MED-1 and -2 GATA factors specify the entire fate of EMS, which otherwise produces two C-like mesectodermal progenitors. The meds are direct targets of the maternal SKN-1 transcription factor; however, their forced expression can direct SKN-1-independent reprogramming of non-EMS cells into mesendodermal progenitors. We find that SGG-1/GSK-3beta kinase acts both as a Wnt-dependent activator of endoderm in EMS and an apparently Wnt-independent repressor of the meds in the C lineage, indicating a dual role for this kinase in mesendoderm development. Our results suggest that a broad tissue territory, mesendoderm, in vertebrates has been confined to a single cell in nematodes through a common gene regulatory network.

Alternate JournalMol. Cell
PubMed ID11463373
Grant ListGM49869 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
HD37487 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States