Onecut Regulates Core Components of the Molecular Machinery for Neurotransmission in Photoreceptor Differentiation

Photoreceptor cells (PRC) are neurons highly specialized for sensing light stimuli and have considerably diversified during evolution. The genetic mechanisms that underlie photoreceptor differentiation and accompanied the progressive increase in complexity and diversification of this sensory cell ty...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 2021-03, Vol.9, p.602450-602450
Main Authors: Vassalli, Quirino Attilio, Colantuono, Chiara, Nittoli, Valeria, Ferraioli, Anna, Fasano, Giulia, Berruto, Federica, Chiusano, Maria Luisa, Kelsh, Robert Neil, Sordino, Paolo, Locascio, Annamaria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ascidian
Cell and Developmental Biology
eye
genetic pathway
ocellus
transcription factor
transcriptomic analysis
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Summary:Photoreceptor cells (PRC) are neurons highly specialized for sensing light stimuli and have considerably diversified during evolution. The genetic mechanisms that underlie photoreceptor differentiation and accompanied the progressive increase in complexity and diversification of this sensory cell type are a matter of great interest in the field. A role of the homeodomain transcription factor Onecut (Oc) in photoreceptor cell formation is proposed throughout multicellular organisms. However, knowledge of the identity of the Oc downstream-acting factors that mediate specific tasks in the differentiation of the PRC remains limited. Here, we used transgenic perturbation of the Oc protein to show its requirement for ciliary PRC differentiation. Then, transcriptome profiling between the trans-activation and trans-repression Oc phenotypes identified differentially expressed genes that are enriched in exocytosis, calcium homeostasis, and neurotransmission. Finally, comparison of RNA-Seq datasets in and mouse identifies a set of Oc downstream genes conserved between tunicates and vertebrates. The transcription factor Oc emerges as a key regulator of neurotransmission in retinal cell types.
ISSN:2296-634X
2296-634X
DOI:10.3389/fcell.2021.602450