Hfp inhibits Drosophila myc transcription and cell growth in a TFIIH/Hay-dependent manner

Regenerative growth is constrained by brain tumor to ensure proper patterning in Drosophila

Some animals respond to injury by inducing new growth to regenerate the lost structures. This regenerative growth must be carefully controlled and constrained to prevent aberrant growth and to allow correct organization of the regenerating tissue. However, the factors that restrict regenerative growth have not been identified. Using a genetic ablation system in the Drosophila wing imaginal disc, we have identified one mechanism that constrains regenerative growth, impairment of which also leads to erroneous patterning of the final appendage. Regenerating discs with reduced levels of the RNA-regulator Brain tumor (Brat) exhibit enhanced regeneration, but produce adult wings with disrupted margins that are missing extensive tracts of sensory bristles. In these mutants, aberrantly high expression of the pro-growth factor Myc and its downstream targets likely contributes to this loss of cell-fate specification. Thus, Brat constrains the expression of pro-regeneration genes and ensures that the regenerating tissue forms the proper final structure.

MYC function and regulation in flies: how Drosophila has enlightened MYC cancer biology

Progress in our understanding of the complex signaling events driving human cancer would have been unimaginably slow without discoveries from Drosophila genetic studies. Significantly, many of the signaling pathways now synonymous with cancer biology were first identified as a result of elegant screens for genes fundamental to metazoan development. Indeed the name given to many core cancer-signaling cascades tells of their history as developmental patterning regulators in flies—e.g. Wingless (Wnt), Notch and Hippo. Moreover, astonishing insight has been gained into these complex signaling networks, and many other classic oncogenic signaling networks (e.g. EGFR/RAS/RAF/ERK, InR/PI3K/AKT/TOR), using sophisticated fly genetics. Of course if we are to understand how these signaling pathways drive cancer, we must determine the downstream program(s) of gene expression activated to promote the cell and tissue over growth fundamental to cancer. Here we discuss one commonality between each of these pathways: they are all implicated as upstream activators of the highly conserved MYC oncogene and transcription factor. MYC can drive all aspects of cell growth and cell cycle progression during animal development. MYC is estimated to be dysregulated in over 50% of all cancers, underscoring the importance of elucidating the signals activating MYC. We also discuss the FUBP1/FIR/FUSE system, which acts as a ‘cruise control’ on the MYC promoter to control RNA Polymerase II pausing and, therefore, MYC transcription in response to the developmental signaling environment. Importantly, the striking conservation between humans and flies within these major axes of MYC regulation has made Drosophila an extremely valuable model organism for cancer research. We therefore discuss how Drosophila studies have helped determine the validity of signaling pathways regulating MYC in vivo using sophisticated genetics, and continue to provide novel insight into cancer biology.

Transcriptional repression of Myc underlies the tumour suppressor function of AGO1 in Drosophila

Here, we report novel tumour suppressor activity for the Drosophila Argonaute family RNA-binding protein AGO1, a component of the miRNA-dependent RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). The mechanism for growth inhibition does not, however, involve canonical roles as part of the RISC; rather, AGO1 controls cell and tissue growth by functioning as a direct transcriptional repressor of the master regulator of growth, Myc. AGO1 depletion in wing imaginal discs drives a significant increase in ribosome biogenesis, nucleolar expansion and cell growth in a manner dependent on Myc abundance. Moreover, increased Myc promoter activity and elevated Myc mRNA in AGO1-depleted animals requires RNA polymerase II transcription. Further support for transcriptional AGO1 functions is provided by physical interaction with the RNA polymerase II transcriptional machinery (chromatin remodelling factors and Mediator Complex), punctate nuclear localisation in euchromatic regions and overlap with Polycomb Group transcriptional silencing loci. Moreover, significant AGO1 enrichment is observed on the Myc promoter and AGO1 interacts with the Myc transcriptional activator Psi. Together, our data show that Drosophila AGO1 functions outside of the RISC to repress Myc transcription and inhibit developmental cell and tissue growth.

This article has an associated ‘The people behind the papers’ interview.

Highlighted Article: In the Drosophila wing, the Argonaute family protein AGO1 acts independently of the miRNA-silencing pathway to restrict tissue growth by directly repressing transcription of the master growth regulator Myc.

DNA Conformation Regulates Gene Expression: The MYC Promoter and Beyond

Emerging evidence suggests that DNA topology plays an instructive role in cell fate control through regulation of gene expression. Transcription produces torsional stress, and the resultant supercoiling of the DNA molecule generates an array of secondary structures. In turn, local DNA architecture is harnessed by the cell, acting within sensory feedback mechanisms to mediate transcriptional output. MYC is a potent oncogene, which is upregulated in the majority of cancers; thus numerous studies have focused on detailed understanding of its regulation. Dissection of regulatory regions within the MYC promoter provided the first hint that intimate feedback between DNA topology and associated DNA remodeling proteins is critical for moderating transcription. As evidence of such regulation is also found in the context of many other genes, here we expand on the prototypical example of the MYC promoter, and also explore DNA architecture in a genome-wide context as a global mechanism of transcriptional control.

Controlling the Master: Chromatin Dynamics at the MYC Promoter Integrate Developmental Signaling

The transcription factor and cell growth regulator MYC is potently oncogenic and estimated to contribute to most cancers. Decades of attempts to therapeutically target MYC directly have not resulted in feasible clinical applications, and efforts have moved toward indirectly targeting MYC expression, function and/or activity to treat MYC-driven cancer. A multitude of developmental and growth signaling pathways converge on the MYC promoter to modulate transcription through their downstream effectors. Critically, even small increases in MYC abundance (<2 fold) are sufficient to drive overproliferation; however, the details of how oncogenic/growth signaling networks regulate MYC at the level of transcription remain nebulous even during normal development. It is therefore essential to first decipher mechanisms of growth signal-stimulated MYC transcription using in vivo models, with intact signaling environments, to determine exactly how these networks are dysregulated in human cancer. This in turn will provide new modalities and approaches to treat MYC-driven malignancy. Drosophila genetic studies have shed much light on how complex networks signal to transcription factors and enhancers to orchestrate Drosophila MYC (dMYC) transcription, and thus growth and patterning of complex multicellular tissue and organs. This review will discuss the many pathways implicated in patterning MYC transcription during development and the molecular events at the MYC promoter that link signaling to expression. Attention will also be drawn to parallels between mammalian and fly regulation of MYC at the level of transcription.

FUBP/KH domain proteins in transcription: Back to the future

Drosophila genetic studies demonstrate that cell and tissue growth regulation is a primary developmental function of P-element somatic inhibitor (Psi), the sole ortholog of FUBP family RNA/DNA-binding proteins. Psi achieves growth control through interaction with Mediator, observations that should put to rest controversy surrounding Pol II transcriptional functions for these KH domain proteins.

Effect of Varroa destructor, Wounding and Varroa Homogenate on Gene Expression in Brood and Adult Honey Bees

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) gene expression related to immunity for hymenoptaecin (AmHym) and defensin-1 (AmDef-1), longevity for vitellogenin (AmVit2) and stem cell proliferation for poly U binding factor 68 kDa (AmPuf68) was compared following Varroa destructor parasitism, buffer injection and injection of V. destructor compounds in its homogenate. In adults, V. destructor parasitism decreased expression of all four genes, while buffer injection decreased expression of AmHym, AmPuf68 and AmVit2, and homogenate injection decreased expression of AmPuf68 and AmVit2 but increased expression of AmDef-1 relative to their respective controls. The effect of V. destructor parasitism in adults relative to the controls was not significantly different from buffer injection for AmHym and AmVit2 expression, and it was not significantly different from homogenate injection for AmPuf68 and AmVit2. In brood, V. destructor parasitism, buffer injection and homogenate injection decreased AmVit2 expression, whereas AmHym expression was decreased by V. destructor parasitism but increased by buffer and homogenate injection relative to the controls. The effect of varroa parasitism in brood was not significantly different from buffer or homogenate injection for AmPuf68 and AmVit2. Expression levels of the four genes did not correlate with detectable viral levels in either brood or adults. The results of this study indicate that the relative effects of V. destructor parasitism on honey bee gene expression are also shared with other types of stresses. Therefore, some of the effects of V. destructor on honey bees may be mostly due to wounding and injection of foreign compounds into the hemolymph of the bee during parasitism. Although both brood and adults are naturally parasitized by V. destructor, their gene expression responded differently, probably the result of different mechanisms of host responses during development.

Defining the essential function of FBP/KSRP proteins: Drosophila Psi interacts with the mediator complex to modulate MYC transcription and tissue growth

Despite two decades of research, the major function of FBP-family KH domain proteins during animal development remains controversial. The literature is divided between RNA processing and transcriptional functions for these single stranded nucleic acid binding proteins. Using Drosophila, where the three mammalian FBP proteins (FBP1-3) are represented by one ortholog, Psi, we demonstrate the primary developmental role is control of cell and tissue growth. Co-IP-mass spectrometry positioned Psi in an interactome predominantly comprised of RNA Polymerase II (RNA Pol II) transcriptional machinery and we demonstrate Psi is a potent transcriptional activator. The most striking interaction was between Psi and the transcriptional mediator (MED) complex, a known sensor of signaling inputs. Moreover, genetic manipulation of MED activity modified Psi-dependent growth, which suggests Psi interacts with MED to integrate developmental growth signals. Our data suggest the key target of the Psi/MED network in controlling developmentally regulated tissue growth is the transcription factor MYC. As FBP1 has been implicated in controlling expression of the MYC oncogene, we predict interaction between MED and FBP1 might also have implications for cancer initiation and progression.

G9a is essential for epigenetic silencing of K(+) channel genes in acute-to-chronic pain transition

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating clinical problem and difficult to treat. Nerve injury causes a long-lasting reduction in K⁺ channel expression in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), but little is known about the epigenetic mechanisms involved. Here we show that nerve injury increased H3K9me2 occupancy at Kcna4, Kcnd2, Kcnq2 and Kcnma1 promoters but did not affect DNA methylation levels of these genes in DRGs. Nerve injury increased activity of G9a, histone deacetylases and EZH2, but only G9a inhibition consistently restored K⁺ channel expression. Selective G9a knockout in DRG neurons completely blocked K⁺ channel silencing and chronic pain development after nerve injury. Remarkably, RNA sequencing analysis revealed that G9a inhibition not only reactivated 40 of 42 silenced K⁺ channel genes but also normalized 638 genes down- or up-regulated by nerve injury. Thus G9a plays a dominant role in transcriptional repression of K⁺ channels and in acute-to-chronic pain transition after nerve injury.

The Notch-mediated hyperplasia circuitry in Drosophila reveals a Src-JNK signaling axis

Notch signaling controls a wide range of cell fate decisions during development and disease via synergistic interactions with other signaling pathways. Here, through a genome-wide genetic screen in Drosophila, we uncover a highly complex Notch-dependent genetic circuitry that profoundly affects proliferation and consequently hyperplasia. We report a novel synergistic relationship between Notch and either of the non-receptor tyrosine kinases Src42A and Src64B to promote hyperplasia and tissue disorganization, which results in cell cycle perturbation, JAK/STAT signal activation, and differential regulation of Notch targets. Significantly, the JNK pathway is responsible for the majority of the phenotypes and transcriptional changes downstream of Notch-Src synergy. We previously reported that Notch-Mef2 also activates JNK, indicating that there are commonalities within the Notch-dependent proliferation circuitry; however, the current data indicate that Notch-Src accesses JNK in a significantly different fashion than Notch-Mef2.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05996.001

The cells within animals are organized into tissues and organs that perform particular roles. To develop and maintain these structures, the ability of individual cells to divide and grow is strictly controlled by the activities of many proteins, including one called Notch. This protein is found in all multicellular organisms and allows cells to communicate with each other. Mutations in the gene that encodes Notch can cause cells to divide excessively and lead to cancer and other diseases.

Notch regulates the growth and division of cells by interacting with many other proteins. For example, Mef2 works with Notch to activate a communication system called the JNK pathway. This pathway is involved in controlling cell division, cell death, and cell movement. However, it is thought that Notch may also interact with other proteins that have not yet been identified.

Now, Ho et al. have conducted a genome-wide screen in fruit flies to find proteins that interact with Notch. The experiments used flies that develop abnormally large eyes because they have an over-active Notch protein. Ho et al. identified hundreds of fruit fly genes that could increase or decrease the size of the flies' eyes in the presence of Notch activity. Many of these genes are known to be involved in development, cell division, or in controlling the activity of other genes.

Ho et al. found that two of these genes encode similar proteins called Src42A and Src64B, which are similar to the Src proteins that are involved in many types of human cancers. The experiments show that both proteins interact with Notch to promote uncontrolled cell division and lead to tissues in the flies becoming more disorganized. The JNK pathway is also activated by Notch working with Src42A or Src64B, but in a different manner to how it is activated by Mef2 and Notch, and with different consequences for cells.

This study provides new insights into how genes work together in order to influence cell division and other events in development. Also, it suggests that Notch activity may regulate the growth of cancers linked with defects in the Src proteins.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05996.002

Defective Hfp-dependent transcriptional repression of dMYC is fundamental to tissue overgrowth in Drosophila XPB models

Nucleotide excision DNA repair (NER) pathway mutations cause neurodegenerative and progeroid disorders (xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), Cockayne syndrome (CS) and trichothiodystrophy (TTD)), which are inexplicably associated with (XP) or without (CS/TTD) cancer. Moreover, cancer progression occurs in certain patients, but not others, with similar C-terminal mutations in the XPB helicase subunit of transcription and NER factor TFIIH. Mechanisms driving overproliferation and, therefore, cancer associated with XPB mutations are currently unknown. Here using Drosophila models, we provide evidence that C-terminally truncated Hay/XPB alleles enhance overgrowth dependent on reduced abundance of RNA recognition motif protein Hfp/FIR, which transcriptionally represses the MYC oncogene homologue, dMYC. The data demonstrate that dMYC repression and dMYC-dependent overgrowth in the Hfp hypomorph is further impaired in the C-terminal Hay/XPB mutant background. Thus, we predict defective transcriptional repression of MYC by the Hfp orthologue, FIR, might provide one mechanism for cancer progression in XP/CS.

Drosophila Low Temperature Viability Protein 1 (LTV1) Is Required for Ribosome Biogenesis and Cell Growth Downstream of Drosophila Myc (dMyc)

During animal development, various signaling pathways converge to regulate cell growth. In this study, we identified LTV1 as a novel cell growth regulator in Drosophila. LTV1 mutant larvae exhibited developmental delays and lethality at the second larval stage. Using biochemical studies, we discovered that LTV1 interacted with ribosomal protein S3 and co-purified with free 40S ribosome subunits. We further demonstrated that LTV1 is crucial for ribosome biogenesis through 40S ribosome subunit synthesis and preribosomal RNA processing, suggesting that LTV1 is required for cell growth by regulating protein synthesis. We also demonstrated that Drosophila Myc (dMyc) directly regulates LTV1 transcription and requires LTV1 to stimulate ribosome biogenesis. Importantly, the loss of LTV1 blocked the cell growth and endoreplication induced by dMyc. Combined, these results suggest that LTV1 is a key downstream factor of dMyc-induced cell growth by properly maintaining ribosome biogenesis.

Prp22 and spliceosome components regulate chromatin dynamics in germ-line polyploid cells

During Drosophila oogenesis, the endopolyploid nuclei of germ-line nurse cells undergo a dramatic shift in morphology as oogenesis progresses; the easily-visible chromosomes are initially polytenic during the early stages of oogenesis before they transiently condense into a distinct '5-blob' configuration, with subsequent dispersal into a diffuse state. Mutations in many genes, with diverse cellular functions, can affect the ability of nurse cells to fully decondense their chromatin, resulting in a '5-blob arrest' phenotype that is maintained throughout the later stages of oogenesis. However, the mechanisms and significance of nurse-cell (NC) chromatin dispersal remain poorly understood. Here, we report that a screen for modifiers of the 5-blob phenotype in the germ line isolated the spliceosomal gene peanuts, the Drosophila Prp22. We demonstrate that reduction of spliceosomal activity through loss of peanuts promotes decondensation defects in NC nuclei during mid-oogenesis. We also show that the Prp38 spliceosomal protein accumulates in the nucleoplasm of nurse cells with impaired peanuts function, suggesting that spliceosomal recycling is impaired. Finally, we reveal that loss of additional spliceosomal proteins impairs the full decondensation of NC chromatin during later stages of oogenesis, suggesting that individual spliceosomal subcomplexes modulate expression of the distinct subset of genes that are required for correct morphology in endopolyploid nurse cells.

Cellular MYCro economics: Balancing MYC function with MYC expression

The expression levels of the MYC oncoprotein have long been recognized to be associated with the outputs of major cellular processes including proliferation, cell growth, apoptosis, differentiation, and metabolism. Therefore, to understand how MYC operates, it is important to define quantitatively the relationship between MYC input and expression output for its targets as well as the higher-order relationships between the expression levels of subnetwork components and the flow of information and materials through those networks. Two different views of MYC are considered, first as a molecular microeconomic manager orchestrating specific positive and negative responses at individual promoters in collaboration with other transcription and chromatin components, and second, as a macroeconomic czar imposing an overarching rule onto all active genes. In either case, c-myc promoter output requires multiple inputs and exploits diverse mechanisms to tune expression to the appropriate levels relative to the thresholds of expression that separate health and disease.

Myc function in Drosophila

Drosophila contains a single MYC gene. Like its vertebrate homologs, it encodes a transcription factor that activates many targets, including prominently genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and translation. This activity makes Myc a central regulator of growth and/or proliferation of many cell types, such as imaginal disc cells, polyploid cells, stem cells, and blood cells. Importantly, not only does Myc act cell autonomously but it also affects the fate of adjacent cells and tissues. This potential of Myc is harnessed by many different signaling pathways, involving, among others, Wg, Dpp, Hpo, ecdysone, insulin, and mTOR.

The Ecdysone receptor constrains wingless expression to pattern cell cycle across the Drosophila wing margin in a Cyclin B-dependent manner

Background

Ecdysone triggers transcriptional changes via the ecdysone receptor (EcR) to coordinate developmental programs of apoptosis, cell cycle and differentiation. Data suggests EcR affects cell cycle gene expression indirectly and here we identify Wingless as an intermediary factor linking EcR to cell cycle.

Results

We demonstrate EcR patterns cell cycle across the presumptive Drosophila wing margin by constraining wg transcription to modulate CycB expression, but not the previously identified Wg-targets dMyc or Stg. Furthermore co-knockdown of Wg restores CycB patterning in EcR knockdown clones. Wg is not a direct target of EcR, rather we demonstrate that repression of Wg by EcR is likely mediated by direct interaction between the EcR-responsive zinc finger transcription factor Crol and the wg promoter.

Conclusions

Thus we elucidate a critical mechanism potentially connecting ecdysone with patterning signals to ensure correct timing of cell cycle exit and differentiation during margin wing development.

Half pint/Puf68 is required for negative regulation of splicing by the SR splicing factor Transformer2

The SR family of proteins plays important regulatory roles in the control of alternative splicing in a wide range of organisms. These factors affect splicing through both positive and negative controls of splice site recognition by pre-spliceosomal factors. Recent studies indicate that the Drosophila SR factor Transformer 2 (Tra2) activates and represses splicing through distinct and separable effector regions of the protein. While the interactions of its Arg-Ser-rich activator region have been well studied, cofactors involved in splicing repression have yet to be found. Here we use a luciferase-based splicing reporter assay to screen for novel proteins necessary for Tra2-dependent repression of splicing. This approach identified Half pint, also known as Puf68, as a co-repressor required for Tra2-mediated autoregulation of the M1 intron. In vivo, Half pint is required for Tra2-dependent repression of M1 splicing but is not necessary for Tra2-dependent activation of doublesex splicing. Further experiments indicate that the effect of Hfp is sequence-specific and that it associates with these target transcripts in cells. Importantly, known M1 splicing regulatory elements are sufficient to sensitize a heterologous intron to Hfp regulation. Two alternative proteins deriving from Hfp transcripts, Hfp68, and Hfp58, were found to be expressed in vivo but differed dramatically in their effect on M1 splicing. Comparison of the cellular localization of these forms in S2 cells revealed that Hfp68 is predominantly localized to the nucleus while Hfp58 is distributed across both the nucleus and cytoplasm. This accords with their observed effects on splicing and suggests that differential compartmentalization may contribute to the specificity of these isoforms. Together, these studies reveal a function for Half pint in splicing repression and demonstrate it to be specifically required for Tra2-dependent intron inclusion.

Investigation of dmyc Promoter and Regulatory Regions

Products of the myc gene family integrate extracellular signals by modulating a wide range of their targets involved in cellular biogenesis and metabolism; the purpose of this integration is to regulate cell death, proliferation, and differentiation. However, understanding the regulation of myc at the transcription level remains a challenge. We performed rapid amplification of dmyc cDNA ends (5' RACE) and mapped the transcription start site at P1 promoter, 18 base pairs upstream of the start of the known EST GM01143 and within the 5' UTR. Our data show that the first TATA box, previously computationally predicted, is utilized to generate dmyc full length mRNA. The largest transcript contains all three exons, generated after the removal of the introns by constitutively regulated splicing events. Further investigation of Downstream Promoter Element (DPE) was achieved by studying lacZ reporter activity; investigation revealed that this element and its upstream cluster of binding sites are required for the dmyc intron 2 activity. These findings may provide valuable tools for further analysis of dmyc cis-elements.

Brk regulates wing disc growth in part via repression of Myc expression

The molecular mechanisms regulating tissue size represent an unsolved puzzle in developmental biology. One signalling pathway controlling growth of the Drosophila wing is Dpp. Dpp promotes growth by repression of the transcription factor Brk. The transcriptional targets of Brk that control cell growth and proliferation, however, are not yet fully elucidated. We report here a genome-wide ChIP-Seq of endogenous Brk from wing imaginal discs. We identify the growth regulator Myc as a target of Brk and show that repression of Myc and of the miRNA bantam explains a significant fraction of the growth inhibition caused by Brk. This work sheds light on the effector mechanisms by which Dpp signalling controls tissue growth.

Genetic systems to investigate regulation of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes in Drosophila

Animal growth requires coordination of cell growth and cell cycle progression with developmental signaling. Loss of cell cycle control is extremely detrimental, with reduced cycles leading to impaired organ growth and excessive proliferation, potentially resulting in tissue overgrowth and driving tumour initiation. Due to the high level of conservation between the cell cycle machinery of Drosophila and humans, the appeal of the fly model continues to be the means with which we can use sophisticated genetics to provide novel insights into mammalian growth and cell cycle control. Over the last decade, there have been major additions to the genetic toolbox to study development in Drosophila. Here we discuss some of the approaches available to investigate the potent growth and cell cycle properties of the Drosophila counterparts of prominent cancer genes, with a focus on the c-Myc oncoprotein and the tumour suppressor protein FIR (Hfp in flies), which behaves as a transcriptional repressor of c-Myc.

TFIIH: when transcription met DNA repair

The transcription initiation factor TFIIH is a remarkable protein complex that has a fundamental role in the transcription of protein-coding genes as well as during the DNA nucleotide excision repair pathway. The detailed understanding of how TFIIH functions to coordinate these two processes is also providing an explanation for the phenotypes observed in patients who bear mutations in some of the TFIIH subunits. In this way, studies of TFIIH have revealed tight molecular connections between transcription and DNA repair and have helped to define the concept of 'transcription diseases'.

Regulation of cell growth by Notch signaling and its differential requirement in normal vs. tumor-forming stem cells in Drosophila

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are postulated to be a small subset of tumor cells with tumor-initiating ability that shares features with normal tissue-specific stem cells. The origin of CSCs and the mechanisms underlying their genesis are poorly understood, and it is uncertain whether it is possible to obliterate CSCs without inadvertently damaging normal stem cells. Here we show that a functional reduction of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) in Drosophila specifically eliminates CSC-like cells in the brain and ovary without having discernable effects on normal stem cells. Brain CSC-like cells can arise from dedifferentiation of transit-amplifying progenitors upon Notch hyperactivation. eIF4E is up-regulated in these dedifferentiating progenitors, where it forms a feedback regulatory loop with the growth regulator dMyc to promote cell growth, particularly nucleolar growth, and subsequent ectopic neural stem cell (NSC) formation. Cell growth regulation is also a critical component of the mechanism by which Notch signaling regulates the self-renewal of normal NSCs. Our findings highlight the importance of Notch-regulated cell growth in stem cell maintenance and reveal a stronger dependence on eIF4E function and cell growth by CSCs, which might be exploited therapeutically.

Identification of cis-Regulatory Elements in the dmyc Gene of Drosophila Melanogaster

Myc is a crucial regulator of growth and proliferation during animal development. Many signals and transcription factors lead to changes in the expression levels of Drosophila myc, yet no clear model exists to explain the complexity of its regulation at the level of transcription. In this study we used Drosophila genetic tools to track the dmyc cis-regulatory elements. Bioinformatics analyses identified conserved sequence blocks in the noncoding regions of the dmyc gene. Investigation of lacZ reporter activity driven by upstream, downstream, and intronic sequences of the dmyc gene in embryonic, larval imaginal discs, larval brain, and adult ovaries, revealed that it is likely to be transcribed from multiple transcription initiation units including a far upstream regulatory region, a TATA box containing proximal complex and a TATA-less downstream promoter element in conjunction with an initiator within the intron 2 region. Our data provide evidence for a modular organization of dmyc regulatory sequences; these modules will most likely be required to generate the tissue-specific patterns of dmyc transcripts. The far upstream region is active in late embryogenesis, while activity of other cis elements is evident during embryogenesis, in specific larval imaginal tissues and during oogenesis. These data provide a framework for further investigation of the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of dmyc.

Drosophila ribosomal protein mutants control tissue growth non-autonomously via effects on the prothoracic gland and ecdysone

The ribosome is critical for all aspects of cell growth due to its essential role in protein synthesis. Paradoxically, many Ribosomal proteins (Rps) act as tumour suppressors in Drosophila and vertebrates. To examine how reductions in Rps could lead to tissue overgrowth, we took advantage of the observation that an RpS6 mutant dominantly suppresses the small rough eye phenotype in a cyclin E hypomorphic mutant (cycE^JP). We demonstrated that the suppression of cycE^JP by the RpS6 mutant is not a consequence of restoring CycE protein levels or activity in the eye imaginal tissue. Rather, the use of UAS-RpS6 RNAi transgenics revealed that the suppression of cycE^JP is exerted via a mechanism extrinsic to the eye, whereby reduced Rp levels in the prothoracic gland decreases the activity of ecdysone, the steroid hormone, delaying developmental timing and hence allowing time for tissue and organ overgrowth. These data provide for the first time a rationale to explain the counter-intuitive organ overgrowth phenotypes observed for certain members of the Minute class of Drosophila Rp mutants. They also demonstrate how Rp mutants can affect growth and development cell non-autonomously.

Ribosomes are required for protein synthesis, which is essential for cell growth and division, thus mutations that reduce Rp expression would be expected to limit cell growth. Paradoxically, heterozygous deletion or mutation of certain Rps can actually promote growth and proliferation and in some cases bestow predisposition to cancer. The underlying mechanism(s) behind these unexpected overgrowth phenotypes despite impairment of ribosome biogenesis has remained obscure. We have addressed this question using the power of Drosophila genetics, taking advantage of our observation that four different Rp mutants, or Minutes, are able to suppress a small rough eye phenotype associated with a mutation of the essential controller of cell proliferation cyclin E (cycE^JP). Our findings demonstrate that suppression of cycE^JP by the RpS6 mutant is exerted via a tissue non-autonomous mechanism whereby reduced Rp in the prothoracic gland decreases activity of the steroid hormone ecdysone, delaying development and hence allowing time for compensatory growth. These data provide for the first time a rationale to explain the counter-intuitive organ overgrowth phenotypes observed for certain Drosophila Minutes. Our findings also have implications for the effect of Rp mutants on endocrine related control of tissue growth in higher organisms.