Editing Synaptogenesis (section)

==== UNC-4 transcription factor ====
What specific molecules and chemical signals are involved in synaptogenesis has yet to be fully understood. Some evidence posits that [[Transcription factor|transcription factors]] are heavily involved in directing where axons and dendrites form synapses before and after synaptogenesis. The main study focusing on this involved motor neurons of ''[[Caenorhabditis elegans|C.elegans]]''. In this study, researchers found that knockout animals without the gene, ''unc-4'' have motor defects specifically with moving backwards. This gene is necessary for the Prd-like homeodomain transcription factor. These animals also had abnormal synaptic specificity indicating that this transcription factor is likely involved in determining where and how synapses are formed.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Von Stetina SE, Treinin M, Miller DM | title = The motor circuit | journal = International Review of Neurobiology | volume = 69 | pages = 125–167 | date = 2005 | pmid = 16492464 | doi = 10.1016/s0074-7742(05)69005-8 | publisher = Elsevier | isbn = 978-0-12-366870-7 }}</ref>

Other studies found that this transcription factor was involved in synaptic strength. In this study, it was found that the u''nc-4'' pathway negatively regulates ''ceh-12'', a gene involved in regulating synaptic choice.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Von Stetina SE, Fox RM, Watkins KL, Starich TA, Shaw JE, Miller DM | title = UNC-4 represses CEH-12/HB9 to specify synaptic inputs to VA motor neurons in C. elegans | journal = Genes & Development | volume = 21 | issue = 3 | pages = 332–346 | date = February 2007 | pmid = 17289921 | pmc = 1785118 | doi = 10.1101/gad.1502107 }}</ref>