Fig. 8: A model for the role of EGL-43 in dopaminergic neurons.
From: An activity-regulated transcriptional program directly drives synaptogenesis
EGL-43 functions downstream of the initial pro-neuronal fate commitment and is a key organizer of synaptogenesis in dopaminergic neurons. Together with the activity-dependent TF FOS-1, EGL-43 functions in a positive feedback loop and binds upstream regulatory regions of synaptic targets to promote gene expression. Simultaneously, EGL-43 promotes the expression of hardwired genetic programs, such as terminal selector and pan-neuronal (CUT) TFs, that in turn also bind presynaptic loci and promote transcription through the same pathway. We hypothesize that during development, neuronal activity can modulate the strength of synaptic gene expression through EGL-43 and FOS-1 to ensure functional connectivity. This schematic was created with BioRender.com.
