NeuroD1 is a vertebrate helix-loop-helix transcription factor that is involved in nervous system development and pancreatic islet development. NeuroD1 -/- mice is uncoordinated, has seizures and a reduce brain size (Miyata et al. 1999). In C. elegans, the ortholog gene is cnd-1. Hallam et al. 2000, showed that cnd-1 has a role in cell fate determination of GABAergic, DD motor neurons, in addition to a role in axon morphology. cnd-1(ju29) worms, show GABAergic motor neuron defect, they have a “kinky” backward movement phenotype and their axons are branched. However, only three genes are known to be downstream targets of CND-1/HLH-2, unc-3, unc-4 and unc-40. We used a RNA-Seq approach to identify additional genes under the control of CND-1/HLH-2. We found that cnd-1 is up-regulated in ju29, which suggests a negative regulation of itself. Also, we identified two HOX gene transcription factors, ceh-5 and ceh-13, that we predict are under the control of CND-1/HLH-2 and are involve in the axis patterning of the nervous system. Similarly, we predict that cnd-1 has a role as a cell fate reinforcer of sensory and motor neurons; it does this by activating and/or repressing different genes such as srw-85 and rpm-1, in a tissue specific manner. By using an integrative approached we identified new downstream targets of CND-1/HLH2 and assembled a more comprehensive gene regulatory network. Surprisingly, our results also suggest that cnd-1 might be involve in the conservation of a food homeostasis pathway, that might be similar to that observed in vertebrates, suggesting that cnd-1 has additional roles to nervous system development.
","abstract_html":"<p>NeuroD1 is a vertebrate helix-loop-helix transcription factor that is involved in nervous system development and pancreatic islet development. NeuroD1 -/- mice is uncoordinated, has seizures and a reduce brain size (Miyata et al. 1999). In C. elegans, the ortholog gene is <em>cnd-1</em>. Hallam et al. 2000, showed that <em>cnd-1</em> has a role in cell fate determination of GABAergic, DD motor neurons, in addition to a role in axon morphology. <em>cnd-1(ju29)</em> worms, show GABAergic motor neuron defect, they have a “kinky” backward movement phenotype and their axons are branched. However, only three genes are known to be downstream targets of CND-1/HLH-2, <em>unc-3</em>, <em>unc-4</em> and <em>unc-40</em>. We used a RNA-Seq approach to identify additional genes under the control of CND-1/HLH-2. We found that <em>cnd-1</em> is up-regulated in <em>ju29</em>, which suggests a negative regulation of itself. Also, we identified two HOX gene transcription factors, <em>ceh-5</em> and <em>ceh-13</em>, that we predict are under the control of CND-1/HLH-2 and are involve in the axis patterning of the nervous system. Similarly, we predict that <em>cnd-1</em> has a role as a cell fate reinforcer of sensory and motor neurons; it does this by activating and/or repressing different genes such as <em>srw-85</em> and <em>rpm-1</em>, in a tissue specific manner. By using an integrative approached we identified new downstream targets of CND-1/HLH2 and assembled a more comprehensive gene regulatory network. Surprisingly, our results also suggest that <em>cnd-1</em> might be involve in the conservation of a food homeostasis pathway, that might be similar to that observed in vertebrates, suggesting that <em>cnd-1 </em>has additional roles to nervous system development.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Aquino Nunez, Wendy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Integrative Biology (MSIB)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Melanie Griffin","Joel McNeal","Susan Smith"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-07-27T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-07-27T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z","subjects":["C. elegans","cnd-1","Hox genes","neurodevelopment","motor neurons","Biology","Integrative Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/integrbiol_etd/36","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Melanie Griffin","Joel McNeal","Susan Smith"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Aquino Nunez, Wendy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-08-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Integrative Biology (MSIB)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["C. elegans","cnd-1","Hox genes","neurodevelopment","motor neurons","Biology","Integrative Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/integrbiol_etd/36"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["NeuroD1 is a vertebrate helix-loop-helix transcription factor that is involved in nervous system development and pancreatic islet development. NeuroD1 -/- mice is uncoordinated, has seizures and a reduce brain size (Miyata et al. 1999). In C. elegans, the ortholog gene is cnd-1. Hallam et al. 2000, showed that cnd-1 has a role in cell fate determination of GABAergic, DD motor neurons, in addition to a role in axon morphology. cnd-1(ju29) worms, show GABAergic motor neuron defect, they have a “kinky” backward movement phenotype and their axons are branched. However, only three genes are known to be downstream targets of CND-1/HLH-2, unc-3, unc-4 and unc-40. We used a RNA-Seq approach to identify additional genes under the control of CND-1/HLH-2. We found that cnd-1 is up-regulated in ju29, which suggests a negative regulation of itself. Also, we identified two HOX gene transcription factors, ceh-5 and ceh-13, that we predict are under the control of CND-1/HLH-2 and are involve in the axis patterning of the nervous system. Similarly, we predict that cnd-1 has a role as a cell fate reinforcer of sensory and motor neurons; it does this by activating and/or repressing different genes such as srw-85 and rpm-1, in a tissue specific manner. By using an integrative approached we identified new downstream targets of CND-1/HLH2 and assembled a more comprehensive gene regulatory network. Surprisingly, our results also suggest that cnd-1 might be involve in the conservation of a food homeostasis pathway, that might be similar to that observed in vertebrates, suggesting that cnd-1 has additional roles to nervous system development.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The role of cnd-1/NeuroD1 in C. elegans nervous system development"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Melanie Griffin","Joel McNeal","Susan Smith"],"dc:creator":["Aquino Nunez, Wendy"],"dc:date.available":["2023-08-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["NeuroD1 is a vertebrate helix-loop-helix transcription factor that is involved in nervous system development and pancreatic islet development. NeuroD1 -/- mice is uncoordinated, has seizures and a reduce brain size (Miyata et al. 1999). In C. elegans, the ortholog gene is cnd-1. Hallam et al. 2000, showed that cnd-1 has a role in cell fate determination of GABAergic, DD motor neurons, in addition to a role in axon morphology. cnd-1(ju29) worms, show GABAergic motor neuron defect, they have a “kinky” backward movement phenotype and their axons are branched. However, only three genes are known to be downstream targets of CND-1/HLH-2, unc-3, unc-4 and unc-40. We used a RNA-Seq approach to identify additional genes under the control of CND-1/HLH-2. We found that cnd-1 is up-regulated in ju29, which suggests a negative regulation of itself. Also, we identified two HOX gene transcription factors, ceh-5 and ceh-13, that we predict are under the control of CND-1/HLH-2 and are involve in the axis patterning of the nervous system. Similarly, we predict that cnd-1 has a role as a cell fate reinforcer of sensory and motor neurons; it does this by activating and/or repressing different genes such as srw-85 and rpm-1, in a tissue specific manner. By using an integrative approached we identified new downstream targets of CND-1/HLH2 and assembled a more comprehensive gene regulatory network. Surprisingly, our results also suggest that cnd-1 might be involve in the conservation of a food homeostasis pathway, that might be similar to that observed in vertebrates, suggesting that cnd-1 has additional roles to nervous system development.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/integrbiol_etd/36"],"dc:subject":["C. elegans","cnd-1","Hox genes","neurodevelopment","motor neurons","Biology","Integrative Biology"],"dc:title":["The role of cnd-1/NeuroD1 in C. elegans nervous system development"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Integrative Biology (MSIB)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z"}