Mechanism of life-long maintenance of neuron identity despite molecular fluctuations

• Published in: eLife 2021-12, Vol.10
• Main Authors: Traets, Joleen Jh, van der Burght, Servaas N, Rademakers, Suzanne, Jansen, Gert, van Zon, Jeroen S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; bistability; Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; Cell differentiation; Cell fate; chemotaxis; Developmental Biology; Gene deletion; gene regulatory network; Homeobox; molecular fluctuations; neuronal cell fate; Neurons; Neurons - physiology; Noise; Physics of Living Systems; stochastic gene expression; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/eLife.66955

Cell fate is maintained over long timescales, yet molecular fluctuations can lead to spontaneous loss of this differentiated state. Our simulations identified a possible mechanism that explains life-long maintenance of ASE neuron fate in by the terminal selector transcription factor CHE-1. Here, fluctuations in CHE-1 level are buffered by the reservoir of CHE-1 bound at its target promoters, which ensures continued expression by preferentially binding the promoter. We provide experimental evidence for this mechanism by showing that expression was resilient to induced transient CHE-1 depletion, while both expression of CHE-1 targets and ASE function were lost. We identified a 130 bp promoter fragment responsible for this resilience, with deletion of a homeodomain binding site in this fragment causing stochastic loss of ASE identity long after its determination. Because network architectures that support this mechanism are highly conserved in cell differentiation, it may explain stable cell fate maintenance in many systems.