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Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2001, p. 2533-2544, Vol. 21, No. 7
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.7.2533-2544.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Activation of Hypodermal Differentiation in the Caenorhabditis elegans Embryo by GATA Transcription Factors ELT-1 and ELT-3

J. S. Gilleard1,* and J. D. McGhee2

Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, United Kingdom,1 and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Genes and Development Research Group, Health Sciences Centre, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada2

Received 24 July 2000/Returned for modification 31 August 2000/Accepted 18 December 2000

The Caenorhabditis elegans GATA transcription factor genes elt-1 and elt-3 are expressed in the embryonic hypodermis (also called the epidermis). elt-1 is expressed in precursor cells and is essential for the production of most hypodermal cells (22). elt-3 is expressed in all of the major hypodermal cells except the lateral seam cells, and expression is initiated immediately after the terminal division of precursor lineages (13). Although this expression pattern suggests a role for ELT-3 in hypodermal development, no functional studies have yet been performed. In the present paper, we show that either elt-3 or elt-1 is sufficient, when force expressed in early embryonic blastomeres, to activate a program of hypodermal differentiation even in blastomeres that are not hypodermal precursors in wild-type embryos. We have deleted the elt-3 gene and shown that ELT-3 is not essential for either hypodermal cell differentiation or the viability of the organism. We showed that ELT-3 can activate hypodermal gene expression in the absence of ELT-1 and that, conversely, ELT-1 can activate hypodermal gene expression in the absence of ELT-3. Overall, the combined results of the mutant phenotypes, initial expression times, and our forced-expression experiments suggest that ELT-3 acts downstream of ELT-1 in a redundant pathway controlling hypodermal cell differentiation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Bearsden Rd., University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, United Kingdom. Phone: 141-330-5604. Fax: 141-330-5603. E-mail: j.gilleard{at}vet.gla.ac.uk.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2001, p. 2533-2544, Vol. 21, No. 7
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.7.2533-2544.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Smith, J. A., McGarr, P., Gilleard, J. S. (2005). The Caenorhabditis elegans GATA factor elt-1 is essential for differentiation and maintenance of hypodermal seam cells and for normal locomotion. J. Cell Sci. 118: 5709-5719 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Baugh, L. R., Hill, A. A., Claggett, J. M., Hill-Harfe, K., Wen, J. C., Slonim, D. K., Brown, E. L., Hunter, C. P. (2005). The homeodomain protein PAL-1 specifies a lineage-specific regulatory network in the C. elegans embryo. Development 132: 1843-1854 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Baugh, L. R., Hill, A. A., Slonim, D. K., Brown, E. L., Hunter, C. P. (2003). Composition and dynamics of the Caenorhabditis elegans early embryonic transcriptome. Development 130: 889-900 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Koh, K., Rothman, J. H. (2001). ELT-5 and ELT-6 are required continuously to regulate epidermal seam cell differentiation and cell fusion in C. elegans. Development 128: 2867-2880 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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