Regulation of chromatin states and gene expression during HSN neuronal maturation is mediated by EOR-1/PLZF, MAU-2/cohesin loader, and SWI/SNF complex

Newborn neurons mature by distinct and sequential steps through the timely induction of specific gene expression programs in concert with epigenetic changes. However, it has been difficult to investigate the relationship between gene expression and epigenetic changes at a single-cell resolution during neuronal maturation. In this study, we investigated the maturation of hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSNs) in C. elegans, which provided the link between chromatin dynamics, gene expression, and the degree of neuronal maturation at a single-cell resolution. Our results demonstrated that chromatin composition in the promoter region of several genes acting for neuronal terminal maturation was modulated at an early developmental stage, and is dependent on the function of the transcription factor EOR-1/PLZF and the cohesin loader MAU-2/MAU2. Components of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex were also required for the proper expression of terminal maturation genes. Epistasis analyses suggested that eor-1 functions with mau-2 and swsn-1 in the same genetic pathway to regulate the maturation of HSNs. Collectively, our study provides a novel approach to analyze neuronal maturation and proposes that predefined epigenetic modifications, mediated by EOR-1, MAU-2, and the SWI/SNF complex, are important for the preparation of future gene expression programs in neuronal terminal maturation.