Abstract

The nervous system is composed of a high diversity of neuronal types. How this diversity is generated during development is a key question in neurobiology. Addressing this question is one of the reasons that led Sydney Brenner to develop the nematode C. elegans as a model organism. While there was initially a debate on whether the neuronal specification follows a ‘European’ model (determined by ancestry) or an ‘American’ model (determined by intercellular communication), several decades of research have established that the truth lies somewhere in between. Neurons are specified by the combination of transcription factors inherited from the ancestor cells and signaling between neighboring cells (especially Wnt and Notch signaling). This converges to the activation in newly generated postmitotic neurons of a specific set of terminal selector transcription factors that initiate and maintain the differentiation of the neuron. In this review, we also discuss the evolution of these specification mechanisms in other nematodes and beyond.

摘要

神经系统由高度多样的神经元类型组成。在发育过程中如何产生这种多样性是神经生物学的关键问题。解决这个问题是导致悉尼布伦纳开发线虫线虫的原因之一。作为模型生物。尽管最初关于神经元规范遵循“欧洲”模型（由血统确定）还是“美国”模型（由细胞间通讯确定）的争论，但数十年的研究已经确定真相介于两者之间。神经元由祖先细胞遗传的转录因子与相邻细胞之间的信号传导（特别是Wnt和Notch信号传导）结合而成。这收敛于新产生的有丝分裂后神经元中特定的一组终末选择器转录因子的激活，这些终末选择子转录因子起始并维持神经元的分化。在这篇综述中，我们还将讨论其他线虫以及其他线虫中这些规范机制的演变。