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Science 10 October 2003:
Vol. 302. no. 5643, pp. 293 - 296
DOI: 10.1126/science.1089163
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Reports

A Neurexin-Related Protein, BAM-2, Terminates Axonal Branches in C. elegans

Antonio Colavita* and Marc Tessier-Lavigne{dagger}{ddagger}

Neuronal axons connect to multiple target cells through the formation of collateral branches, but the mechanisms that regulate this process are largely unknown. We show that BAM-2, a neurexin-related transmembrane protein, is required for development of VC motoneuron branches in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Expression analysis and ectopic expression experiments suggest that BAM-2 functions as a branch termination cue and reveal a mechanism for selective control of branches that sprout off a primary axon.

Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.



* Present address: Ottawa Health Research Institute (Neurosciences), 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.

{dagger} Present address: Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: marctl{at}gene.com

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Gene Networks in Development and Evolution Special Feature Sackler Colloquium: The Caenorhabditis elegans vulva: A post-embryonic gene regulatory network controlling organogenesis.
T. O. Ririe, J. S. Fernandes, and P. W. Sternberg (2008)
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Netrin-1 Induces Axon Branching in Developing Cortical Neurons by Frequency-Dependent Calcium Signaling Pathways.
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Gene Regulatory Networks Special Feature: Transcriptional network underlying Caenorhabditis elegans vulval development.
T. Inoue, M. Wang, T. O. Ririe, J. S. Fernandes, and P. W. Sternberg (2005)
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