The heterochronic LIN-14 protein is a BEN domain transcription factor

Abstract

Heterochrony is a foundational concept in animal development and evolution, first introduced by Ernst Haeckel in 1875 and later popularized by Stephen J. Gould1. A molecular understanding of heterochrony was first established by genetic mutant analysis in the nematode C. elegans, revealing a genetic pathway that controls the proper timing of cellular patterning events executed during distinct postembryonic juvenile and adult stages2. This genetic pathway is composed of a complex temporal cascade of multiple regulatory factors, including the first-ever discovered miRNA, lin-4, and its target gene, lin-14, which encodes a nuclear, DNA-binding protein2,3,4. While all core members of the pathway have homologs based on primary sequences in other organisms, homologs for LIN-14 have never been identified by sequence homology. We report that the AlphaFold-predicted structure of the LIN-14 DNA binding domain is homologous to the BEN domain, found in a family of DNA binding proteins previously thought to have no nematode homologs5. We confirmed this prediction through targeted mutations of predicted DNA-contacting residues, which disrupt in vitro DNA binding and in vivo function. Our findings shed new light on potential mechanisms of LIN-14 function and suggest that BEN domain-containing proteins may have a conserved role in developmental timing.