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Development

miRNAs act on a hunch

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 4, page 524 (2003)Cite this article

The coordinated specification and deployment of cells in space and time is central to animal development. The Drosophila hunchback (hb) gene codes for a transcription factor that is well known for its role in the spatial patterning of the embryonic nervous system, and recently this factor has also been implicated in the temporal regulation of neuronal birth. This means that the activity of hb needs to be confined to a discrete time window. How is this achieved? According to two new reports in Developmental Cell, the hunchback homologue hbl-1 in the worm Caenhorhabditis elegans might provide some vital clues.

Abrahante et al. and Lin et al. showed that loss of hbl-1 function in the C. elegans larva causes certain cells, including the seam cells of the hypodermis, to acquire adult characteristics prematurely. This indicates that HBL-1 is involved in regulating the timing of the larva–adult transition. The teams also showed that HBL-1 protein expression is normally downregulated in the hypodermis and ventral nerve cord (VNC) during post-embryonic development.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. Abrahante, J.E. et al. The Caenorhabditis elegans hunchback-like gene lin-57/hbl-1 controls developmental time and is regulated by microRNAs. Dev. Cell 4, 625–637 (2003)

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  2. Lin, S.-Y. et al. The C. elegans hunchback homolog, hbl-1, controls temporal patterning and is a probable microRNA target. Dev. Cell 4, 639–650 (2003)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Rougvie, A.E. Control of developmental timing in animals. Nature Rev. Genet. 2, 690–701 (2001)

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Authors
  1. Heather Wood
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Wood, H. miRNAs act on a hunch. Nat Rev Neurosci 4, 524 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1173

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1173

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