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F Slack

Publications and source records attributed to F Slack.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Conservation of the sequence and temporal expression of let-7 heterochronic regulatory RNA.

Two small RNAs regulate the timing of Caenorhabditis elegans development. Transition from the first to the second larval stage fates requires the 22-nucleotide lin-4 RNA, and transition from late larval to adult cell fates requires the 21-nucleotide let-7 RNA. The lin-4 and let-7 RNA genes are not homologous to each other, but are each complementary to sequences in the 3' untranslated regions of a set of protein-coding target genes that are normally negatively regulated by the RNAs. Here we have detected let-7 RNAs of approximately 21 nucleotides in samples from a wide range of animal species, including vertebrate, ascidian, hemichordate, mollusc, annelid and arthropod, but not in RNAs from several cnidarian and poriferan species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli or Arabidopsis. We did not detect lin-4 RNA in these species. We found that let-7 temporal regulation is also conserved: let-7 RNA expression is first detected at late larval stages in C. elegans and Drosophila, at 48 hours after fertilization in zebrafish, and in adult stages of annelids and molluscs. The let-7 regulatory RNA may control late temporal transitions during development across animal phylogeny.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Expression and function of members of a divergent nuclear receptor family in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are a large class of ligand-regulated transcriptional modulators that have been shown to play roles in many developmental processes. The Caenorhabditis elegans genome is predicted to encode a large and divergent family of NR proteins. The functions of most of these genes are unknown. As a first step toward defining their roles, we have initiated an expression and functional survey of a subset of these genes. In this study, we demonstrate expression of 21 of 28 NR genes examined, indicating that a large fraction of the predicted genes likely encode functional gene products. We show that five genes are expressed predominantly in neuronal cells, while others are expressed in multiple cell types. Interestingly, we find that eight genes are expressed exclusively in the lateral hypodermal (seam) cells. These eight genes share a high degree of overall homology and cluster in a neighbor-joining tree derived from sequence analysis of the NRs, suggesting that they arose by gene duplication from a common ancestor. We show that overexpression of each of three members of this subfamily results in similar developmental defects, consistent with a redundant role for these genes in the function of the lateral hypodermal cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Temporal pattern formation by heterochronic genes.

Heterochrony describes the phylogenetic variation in the relative timing of major developmental events. Such heterochronic variation has been noted across phylogeny, including closely related species, suggesting that particular genetic loci control global aspects of developmental timing, and that variation at those loci may play important roles in evolutionary change. Genetic analyses of heterochronic mutations in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans reveal that control of temporal patterning is analogous to the dedicated genetic pathways that control the patterning of the spatial axes in Drosophila and other metazoans. These pathways generate graded or binary levels of regulatory factors that pattern particular axes of the developing animal. C. elegans heterochronic genes constitute a regulatory cascade that both generates a temporal decrease in the level of the LIN-14 and LIN-28 proteins and responds to the changes in these gene activities to coordinate the temporal sequence of many cell fates as the animal develops. The temporal regulation of lin-14 and lin-28 gene activities is posttranscriptional and mediated by the antisense RNA product of the lin-4 gene. Hormonal control of developmental timing is a common theme throughout phylogeny. Heterochronic genes that involve hormonal signaling have been identified in vertebrates as well as C. elegans.

Animals↗