Abstract
The endoderm and much of the mesoderm arise from the EMS cell in the four-cell C. elegans embryo. We report that the MED-1 and -2 GATA factors specify the entire fate of EMS, which otherwise produces two C-like mesectodermal progenitors. The meds are direct targets of the maternal SKN-1 transcription factor; however, their forced expression can direct SKN-1-independent reprogramming of non-EMS cells into mesendodermal progenitors. We find that SGG-1/GSK-3beta kinase acts both as a Wnt-dependent activator of endoderm in EMS and an apparently Wnt-independent repressor of the meds in the C lineage, indicating a dual role for this kinase in mesendoderm development. Our results suggest that a broad tissue territory, mesendoderm, in vertebrates has been confined to a single cell in nematodes through a common gene regulatory network.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Base Sequence
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Blastomeres / cytology
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Blastomeres / metabolism*
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Caenorhabditis elegans / cytology
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Caenorhabditis elegans / embryology
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Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
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Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism*
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins*
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Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / metabolism*
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Carrier Proteins / metabolism
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Cell Differentiation
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Cell Lineage
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Cloning, Molecular
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DNA / genetics
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DNA / metabolism
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DNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry
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DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
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DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
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Endoderm / cytology
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Endoderm / metabolism*
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Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors
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GATA Transcription Factors
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
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Helminth Proteins / chemistry
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Helminth Proteins / genetics
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Helminth Proteins / metabolism*
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Mesoderm / cytology
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Mesoderm / metabolism*
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Mutation / genetics
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Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / physiology
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RNA-Binding Proteins
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Signal Transduction
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Stem Cells / cytology
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Stem Cells / metabolism
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Transcription Factors / chemistry
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Transcription Factors / genetics
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Transcription Factors / metabolism*
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Wnt Proteins
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Zebrafish Proteins*
Substances
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
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Carrier Proteins
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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Erythroid-Specific DNA-Binding Factors
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GATA Transcription Factors
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Helminth Proteins
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MED-1 protein, C elegans
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MED-2 protein, C elegans
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POS-1 protein, C elegans
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins
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RNA-Binding Proteins
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Transcription Factors
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Wnt Proteins
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Zebrafish Proteins
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skn-1 protein, C elegans
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DNA
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Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3