Differential regulation of protein tyrosine kinase signalling by Dock and the PTP61F variants

miR-137 regulates PTP61F, affecting insulin signaling, metabolic homeostasis, and starvation resistance in Drosophila

miR-137 is a highly conserved brain-enriched microRNA (miRNA) that has been associated with neuronal function and proliferation. Here, we show that Drosophila miR-137 null mutants display increased body weight with enhanced triglyceride content and decreased locomotor activity. In addition, when challenged by nutrient deprivation, miR-137 mutants exhibit reduced motivation to feed and prolonged survival. We show through genetic epistasis and rescue experiments that this starvation resistance is due to a disruption in insulin signaling. Our studies further show that miR-137 null mutants exhibit a drastic reduction in levels of the phosphorylated/activated insulin receptor, InR (InR-P). We investigated if this is due to the predicted miR-137 target, Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 61F (PTP61F), ortholog of mammalian TC-PTP/PTP1B, which are known to dephosphorylate InR-P. Indeed, levels of an endogenously tagged GFP-PTP61F are significantly elevated in miR-137 null mutants, and we show that overexpression of PTP61F alone is sufficient to mimic many of the metabolic phenotypes of miR-137 mutants. Finally, we knocked-down elevated levels of PTP61F in the miR-137 null mutant background and show that this rescues levels of InR-P, restores normal body weight and triglyceride content, starvation sensitivity, as well as attenuates locomotor and starvation-induced feeding defects. Our study supports a model in which miR-137 is critical for dampening levels of PTP61F, thereby maintaining normal insulin signaling and energy homeostasis.

PTP61F Mediates Cell Competition and Mitigates Tumorigenesis

Tissue homeostasis via the elimination of aberrant cells is fundamental for organism survival. Cell competition is a key homeostatic mechanism, contributing to the recognition and elimination of aberrant cells, preventing their malignant progression and the development of tumors. Here, using Drosophila as a model organism, we have defined a role for protein tyrosine phosphatase 61F (PTP61F) (orthologue of mammalian PTP1B and TCPTP) in the initiation and progression of epithelial cancers. We demonstrate that a Ptp61F null mutation confers cells with a competitive advantage relative to neighbouring wild-type cells, while elevating PTP61F levels has the opposite effect. Furthermore, we show that knockdown of Ptp61F affects the survival of clones with impaired cell polarity, and that this occurs through regulation of the JAK-STAT signalling pathway. Importantly, PTP61F plays a robust non-cell-autonomous role in influencing the elimination of adjacent polarity-impaired mutant cells. Moreover, in a neoplastic RAS-driven polarity-impaired tumor model, we show that PTP61F levels determine the aggressiveness of tumors, with Ptp61F knockdown or overexpression, respectively, increasing or reducing tumor size. These effects correlate with the regulation of the RAS-MAPK and JAK-STAT signalling by PTP61F. Thus, PTP61F acts as a tumor suppressor that can function in an autonomous and non-cell-autonomous manner to ensure cellular fitness and attenuate tumorigenesis.

The Genomic Architecture of Adaptation to Larval Malnutrition Points to a Trade-off with Adult Starvation Resistance in Drosophila

Periods of nutrient shortage impose strong selection on animal populations. Experimental studies of genetic adaptation to nutrient shortage largely focus on resistance to acute starvation at adult stage; it is not clear how conclusions drawn from these studies extrapolate to other forms of nutritional stress. We studied the genomic signature of adaptation to chronic juvenile malnutrition in six populations of Drosophila melanogaster evolved for 150 generations on an extremely nutrient-poor larval diet. Comparison with control populations evolved on standard food revealed repeatable genomic differentiation between the two set of population, involving >3,000 candidate SNPs forming >100 independently evolving clusters. The candidate genomic regions were enriched in genes implicated in hormone, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, including some with known effects on fitness-related life-history traits. Rather than being close to fixation, a substantial fraction of candidate SNPs segregated at intermediate allele frequencies in all malnutrition-adapted populations. This, together with patterns of among-population variation in allele frequencies and estimates of Tajima’s D, suggests that the poor diet results in balancing selection on some genomic regions. Our candidate genes for tolerance to larval malnutrition showed a high overlap with genes previously implicated in acute starvation resistance. However, adaptation to larval malnutrition in our study was associated with reduced tolerance to acute adult starvation. Thus, rather than reflecting synergy, the shared genomic architecture appears to mediate an evolutionary trade-off between tolerances to these two forms of nutritional stress.