Genomic cis-regulatory architecture and trans-acting regulators of a single interneuron-specific gene battery in C-elegans

Gene batteries are sets of coregulated genes with common cis-regulatory elements that define the differentiated state of a cell. The nature of gene batteries for individual neuronal cellular subtypes and their linked cis-regulatory elements is poorly defined. Through molecular dissection of the highly modular cis-regulatory architecture of individual neuronally expressed genes, we have defined a conserved 16 bp cis-regulatory motif that drives gene expression in a single interneuron subtype, termed AIY, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This motif is bound and activated by the Paired- and LIM-type homeodomain proteins CEH-10 and TTX-3. Using genome-wide phylogenetic footprinting, we delineated the location, distribution, and evolution of AIY-specific cis-regulatory elements throughout the genome and thereby defined a large battery of AIY-expressed genes, all of which represent direct Paired/LIM homeodomain target genes. The identity of these homeodomain targets provides novel insights into the biology of the AIY interneuron.