Figure 1.

LIM-4 controls expression of putative receptor and signaling genes and is required early to repress str-2::GFP expression. (A) str-2::GFP is expressed in a single AWC neuron in wild-type animals. (B) lim-4 mutants express str-2::GFP in AWC and AWB. (C) Transgenic animals carrying the odr-3::LIM-4 transgene do not express str-2::GFP in either cell. (D) str-1::GFP is expressed in the AWB neurons in wild-type animals. (E) In lim-4 mutants, str-1::GFP expression is severely reduced. (F) Transgenic animals expressing odr-3::LIM-4 express str-1::GFP in both AWC and AWB. (G) In wild-type animals, odr-3::GFP fluoresces more brightly in AWC than in AWB. (H) In lim-4 mutants, the odr-3::GFP signal is equally bright in AWB and AWC. Quantitative analysis of these phenotypes is presented in Tables 1 and 2, except for str-2::GFP in an odr-3::LIM-4 strain (no GFP expression in 84% of animals, n = 80). Anterior is left and dorsal is up in all panels. Scale bar, 40 μm and applies to A–H. (I) LIM-4 is required early in development to repress str-2::GFP in AWB. The y axis indicates the percentage of animals that express str-2::GFP in its wild-type pattern, in a single AWC neuron. Animals grown at different temperatures have different penetrances for the str-2::GFP misexpression phenotype (first three columns). Animals were shifted from one temperature to another at the L1 larval stage and assayed as adults. Temperature-shifted animals exhibited the phenotype characteristic of the temperature they experienced during the embryonic and L1 stages (last two columns; shifts are indicated by arrows). Error bars, standard error of the proportion.