# VAB-8/KIF26, LIN-17/Frizzled, and EFN-4/Ephrin control distinct stages of posterior neuroblast migration downstream of the MAB-5/Hox transcription factor in Caenorhabditis elegans

## TL;DR

This study identifies a genetic network in C. elegans that controls the stepwise migration of neurons, revealing how Hox factors regulate distinct migration stages through conserved genes.

## Contribution

The paper discovers a novel transcriptional program downstream of MAB-5/Hox that controls distinct stages of posterior neuroblast migration in C. elegans.

## Key findings

- MAB-5 regulates three genes (vab-8, lin-17, efn-4) that control distinct stages of QL lineage posterior migration.
- vab-8 is required for all three migration stages, while lin-17 and efn-4 are involved in later stages.
- Failure in migration stages 2 and 3 leads to premature dendritic protrusion, linking migration and differentiation.

## Abstract

Hox transcription factors are involved in neuronal and neural crest development and differentiation, including migration, but the genetic programs employed by Hox genes to regulate terminal differentiation remain to be defined. In C. elegans, the Antennapedia-like Hox factor MAB-5 is both necessary and sufficient to induce posterior migration of the Q lineage neuroblasts and neurons downstream of canonical Wnt signaling. Q lineage fluorescence-activated cell sorting and RNA seq in mab-5 loss-of-function and gain-of-function backgrounds revealed genes with expression in the Q lineage dependent upon MAB-5. Here, the roles of three mab-5-regulated genes in QL lineage posterior migration are delineated, vab-8/KIF26, lin-17/Fz, and efn-4/Ephrin. Live, time-lapse imaging of QL.a and QL.ap posterior migration revealed that this migration occurs in three distinct stages: QL.a migration posterior to QL.p (1st stage); after QL.a division, posterior migration of QL.ap to a region immediately anterior to the anus (2nd stage); and final migration of QL.ap posterior to the final position where it differentiates into the PQR neuron (3rd stage). vab-8 affected each of the three stages, lin-17 affected stages two and three, and efn-4 was required for the third stage of posterior QL.ap migration. Thus, different MAB-5-regulated genes control distinct stages of posterior migration. mab-20/Semaphorin, a known interaction partner with efn-4, also affected only the third stage similar to efn-4. Suppression of mab-5 gof posterior migration confirmed that these genes act downstream of mab-5 in posterior migration. Possibly, VAB-8/KIF26 helps deliver distinct molecules to the plasma membrane that mediate distinct stages of migration, including LIN-17/Fz and EFN-4. Surprisingly, failure of stages two and three led to the premature extension of a posterior dendritic protrusion, which normally forms after QL.ap had migrated to its final position and PQR differentiation begins. This suggests a link between migration and differentiation, where differentiation is delayed while migration proceeds. In sum, this work delineates a transcriptional program downstream of mab-5/Hox that controls posterior neuroblast migration, in response to Wnt signaling.

The migration of neurons in the developing nervous system is key to normal development, and is perturbed in many neurodevelopmental disorders. In this work using the model organism nematode worm Caenprhabditis elegans, a novel genetic network controlling neuronal migration in is described. This network involves the conserved Hox factor MAB-5, which regulates differential gene expression, and genes regulated by MAB-5 to drive posterior neuronal migration. Three distinct phases of posterior migration are described, each regulated discretely by genes regulated by MAB-5. Each gene is conserved in mammals. The kinesin-like molecule VAB-8/KIF26 is required for each phase; the LIN-17/Fz receptor is required for phases 2 and three; and the secreted EFN-4/Ephrin is required only for the final phase 3. This work establishes a novel paradigm for studying neuronal migration in Caenorhabditis elegans, and defines a novel genetic cassette downstream of a key, conserved regulator of gene expression in neuronal development.