Linked Life Data

18550714

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/18550714

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
14
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-6-23
pubmed:abstractText
Although sexual dimorphism is ubiquitous in animals, the means by which sex determination mechanisms trigger specific modifications to shared structures is not well understood. In C. elegans, tail tip morphology is highly dimorphic: whereas hermaphrodites have a whip-like, tapered tail tip, the male tail is blunt-ended and round. Here we show that the male-specific cell fusion and retraction that generate the adult tail are controlled by the previously undescribed doublesex-related DM gene dmd-3, with a secondary contribution from the paralogous gene mab-3. In dmd-3 mutants, cell fusion and retraction in the male tail tip are severely defective, while in mab-3; dmd-3 double mutants, these processes are completely absent. Conversely, expression of dmd-3 in the hermaphrodite tail tip is sufficient to trigger fusion and retraction. The master sexual regulator tra-1 normally represses dmd-3 expression in the hermaphrodite tail tip, accounting for the sexual specificity of tail tip morphogenesis. Temporal cues control the timing of tail remodeling in males by regulating dmd-3 expression, and Wnt signaling promotes this process by maintaining and enhancing dmd-3 expression in the tail tip. Downstream, dmd-3 and mab-3 regulate effectors of morphogenesis including the cell fusion gene eff-1. Together, our results reveal a regulatory network for male tail morphogenesis in which dmd-3 and mab-3 together occupy the central node. These findings indicate that an important conserved function of DM genes is to link the general sex determination hierarchy to specific effectors of differentiation and morphogenesis.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0950-1991
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
135
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2373-82
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
dmd-3, a doublesex-related gene regulated by tra-1, governs sex-specific morphogenesis in C. elegans.
pubmed:affiliation
Center for Neural Development and Disease, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural