The forkhead transcription factor Foxj1 controls vertebrate olfactory cilia biogenesis and sensory neuron differentiation

by Dheeraj Rayamajhi, Mert Ege, Kirill Ukhanov, Christa Ringers, Yiliu Zhang, Inyoung Jung, Percival P. D ’Gama, Summer Shijia Li, Mehmet Ilyas Cosacak, Caghan Kizil, Hae-Chul Park, Emre Yaksi, Jeffrey R. Martens, Steven L. Brody, Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi, Sudipto Roy

In vertebrates, olfactory receptors localize on multiple cilia elaborated on dendritic knobs of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). Although olfactory cilia dysfunction can cause anosmia, how their differentiation is programmed at the transcriptional level has remained largely unexplored. We discovered in zebrafish and mice that Foxj1, a forkhead domain-containing transcription factor traditionally linked with motile cilia biogenesis, is expressed in OSNs and required for olfactory epithelium (OE) formation. In keeping with the immotile nature of olfactory cilia, we observed that ciliary motility genes are repressed in zebrafish, mouse, and human OSNs. Strikingly, we also found that besides ciliogenesis, Foxj1 controls the differentiation of the OSNs themselves by regulating their cell type –specific gene expression, such as that ofolfactory marker protein (omp) involved in odor-evoked signal transduction. In line with this, response to bile acids, odors detected by OMP-positive OSNs, was significantly diminished infoxj1 mutant zebrafish. Taken together, our findings establish how the canonical Foxj1-mediated motile ciliogenic transcriptional program has been repurposed for the biogenesis of immotile olfactory ...

Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - January 25, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Dheeraj Rayamajhi Source Type: research