Genome-wide analysis of sex-enriched gene expression during C. elegans larval development

Dev Biol. 2005 Aug 15;284(2):500-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.05.017.

Abstract

Sex determination in C. elegans is controlled by the TRA-1 zinc finger protein, a Ci/GLI homolog that promotes female cell fates throughout the body. The regulatory hierarchy that controls TRA-1 is well established, but the downstream effectors that establish sexual dimorphism during larval development remain largely unknown. Here, we describe the use of cDNA microarrays to identify sex-enriched transcripts expressed during three stages of C. elegans larval development. By excluding previously identified germline-enriched transcripts, we focused on somatic sexual development. This approach identified a large number of sex-enriched transcripts that are good candidates to encode regulators of somatic sexual development. We found little overlap between genes with sex-enriched expression in early versus late larval development, indicating that distinct sexual regulatory programs operate at these times. Genes with sex-enriched expression are found throughout the genome, with no strong bias between autosomes and X chromosomes. Reporter gene analysis revealed that these genes are expressed in highly specific patterns in a variety of sexually dimorphic cells. We searched for TRA-1 consensus DNA binding sites near genes with sex-enriched expression, and found that most strongly sex-enriched mRNAs are likely to be regulated indirectly by TRA-1. These results suggest that TRA-1 controls sexual dimorphism through a small number of intermediary regulators rather than by acting directly on the full constellation of genes involved in sex-specific differentiation.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Binding Sites
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / growth & development*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism
  • Chromosomes
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Disorders of Sex Development / genetics
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Genes, Helminth
  • Genes, Reporter
  • Genome*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Male
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Open Reading Frames
  • Physical Chromosome Mapping
  • Protein Binding
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Sex Determination Processes
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transgenes

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Transcription Factors
  • tra-1 protein, C elegans
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins