1
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Navarro T, Iannini A, Neto M, Campoy-Lopez A, Muñoz-García J, Pereira PS, Ares S, Casares F. Feedback control of organ size precision is mediated by BMP2-regulated apoptosis in the Drosophila eye. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002450. [PMID: 38289899 PMCID: PMC10826937 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Biological processes are intrinsically noisy, and yet, the result of development-like the species-specific size and shape of organs-is usually remarkably precise. This precision suggests the existence of mechanisms of feedback control that ensure that deviations from a target size are minimized. Still, we have very limited understanding of how these mechanisms operate. Here, we investigate the problem of organ size precision using the Drosophila eye. The size of the adult eye depends on the rates at which eye progenitor cells grow and differentiate. We first find that the progenitor net growth rate results from the balance between their proliferation and apoptosis, with this latter contributing to determining both final eye size and its variability. In turn, apoptosis of progenitor cells is hampered by Dpp, a BMP2/4 signaling molecule transiently produced by early differentiating retinal cells. Our genetic and computational experiments show how the status of retinal differentiation is communicated to progenitors through the differentiation-dependent production of Dpp, which, by adjusting the rate of apoptosis, exerts a feedback control over the net growth of progenitors to reduce final eye size variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Navarro
- CABD, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Marta Neto
- CABD, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Alejandro Campoy-Lopez
- CABD, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
- ALMIA, CABD, CSIC/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
| | - Javier Muñoz-García
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC) and Departamento de Matematicas, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganes, Spain
| | - Paulo S. Pereira
- I3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saude, Universidade do Porto; IBMC- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Saúl Ares
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC) and Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia (CNB), CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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2
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Dong W, Li T, Wu WJ, Zhang XB. Cell lineage analysis reveals signal tracing and compartment characterisation in Drosophila haltere. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 32:583-591. [PMID: 37212394 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Insect halteres, as specialised hind wings, play an important role during aerial manoeuvres. In Drosophila, halteres and wings are homologous appendages with different morphology. Previous studies have focused on the metamorphosis of halteres, while current knowledge about its cell lineage and regional compartmentalization is still limited. In this study, we performed cell-lineage tracing of canonical landmark signals in halteres and present a simple model for haltere development. Cell lineage tracing in wings was used as a reference. The nub showed wing-like expressions in halteres, whereas hth and pnr exhibited different expressions in adult wings and halteres. The lineage tracing revealed that the pouch region gives rise to end-bulb, and hinge cells contribute to proximal haltere formation. Moreover, we demonstrated that twi-expressing cells participate in the cell population of the distal end-bulb. Haematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that muscle cells were present at the distal end-bulb. These results indicated that adult halteres displayed unique cell lineage patterns and the muscle cells are important components of end-bulbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Dong
- Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Biopesticides, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Ting Li
- Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Biopesticides, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
- College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Wen-Jun Wu
- Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Biopesticides, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
- College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xu-Bo Zhang
- Institute of Applied Biology, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Biopesticides, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China
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3
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Khan S, Pradhan SJ, Giraud G, Bleicher F, Paul R, Merabet S, Shashidhara LS. A Micro-evolutionary Change in Target Binding Sites as a Key Determinant of Ultrabithorax Function in Drosophila. J Mol Evol 2023; 91:616-627. [PMID: 37341745 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-023-10123-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Hox genes encode Homeodomain-containing transcription factors, which specify segmental identities along the anterior-posterior axis. Functional changes in Hox genes have been directly implicated in the evolution of body plans across the metazoan lineage. The Hox protein Ultrabithorax (Ubx) is expressed and required in developing third thoracic (T3) segments in holometabolous insects studied so far, particularly, of the order Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. Ubx function is key to specify differential development of the second (T2) and T3 thoracic segments in these insects. While Ubx is expressed in the third thoracic segment in developing larvae of Hymenopteran Apis mellifera, the morphological differences between T2 and T3 are subtle. To identify evolutionary changes that are behind the differential function of Ubx in Drosophila and Apis, which are diverged for more than 350 million years, we performed comparative analyses of genome wide Ubx-binding sites between these two insects. Our studies reveal that a motif with a TAAAT core is a preferred binding site for Ubx in Drosophila, but not in Apis. Biochemical and transgenic assays suggest that in Drosophila, the TAAAT core sequence in the Ubx binding sites is required for Ubx-mediated regulation of two of its target genes studied here; CG13222, a gene that is normally upregulated by Ubx and vestigial (vg), whose expression is repressed by Ubx in T3. Interestingly, changing the TAAT site to a TAAAT site was sufficient to bring an otherwise unresponsive enhancer of the vg gene from Apis under the control of Ubx in a Drosophila transgenic assay. Taken together, our results suggest an evolutionary mechanism by which critical wing patterning genes might have come under the regulation of Ubx in the Dipteran lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumen Khan
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, 411008, India.
| | - Saurabh J Pradhan
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, 411008, India
| | - Guillaume Giraud
- IGFL, ENS Lyon, UMR5242, 32 Av. Tony Garnier, 69007, Lyon, France
| | | | - Rachel Paul
- IGFL, ENS Lyon, UMR5242, 32 Av. Tony Garnier, 69007, Lyon, France
| | - Samir Merabet
- IGFL, ENS Lyon, UMR5242, 32 Av. Tony Garnier, 69007, Lyon, France
| | - L S Shashidhara
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, 411008, India.
- Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana, 131029, India.
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4
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Genevcius BC, Calandriello DC, Torres TT. Molecular and Developmental Signatures of Genital Size Macro-Evolution in Bugs. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6742344. [PMID: 36181434 PMCID: PMC9585474 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of the genetic architecture of phenotypic traits has experienced drastic growth over the last years. Nevertheless, the majority of studies associating genotypes and phenotypes have been conducted at the ontogenetic level. Thus, we still have an elusive knowledge of how these genetic-developmental architectures evolve themselves and how their evolution is mirrored in the phenotypic change across evolutionary time. We tackle this gap by reconstructing the evolution of male genital size, one of the most complex traits in insects, together with its underlying genetic architecture. Using the order Hemiptera as a model, spanning over 350 million years of evolution, we estimate the correlation between genitalia and three features: development rate, body size, and rates of DNA substitution in 68 genes associated with genital development. We demonstrate that genital size macro-evolution has been largely dependent on body size and weakly influenced by development rate and phylogenetic history. We further revealed significant correlations between mutation rates and genital size for 19 genes. Interestingly, these genes have diverse functions and participate in distinct signaling pathways, suggesting that genital size is a complex trait whose fast evolution has been enabled by molecular changes associated with diverse morphogenetic processes. Our data further demonstrate that the majority of DNA evolution correlated with the genitalia has been shaped by negative selection or neutral evolution. Thus, in terms of sequence evolution, changes in genital size are predominantly facilitated by relaxation of constraints rather than positive selection, possibly due to the high pleiotropic nature of the morphogenetic genes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Denis C Calandriello
- Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil
| | - Tatiana T Torres
- Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo (SP), Brazil
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5
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Abstract
The Drosophila wing imaginal disc is a tissue of undifferentiated cells that are precursors of the wing and most of the notum of the adult fly. The wing disc first forms during embryogenesis from a cluster of ∼30 cells located in the second thoracic segment, which invaginate to form a sac-like structure. They undergo extensive proliferation during larval stages to form a mature larval wing disc of ∼35,000 cells. During this time, distinct cell fates are assigned to different regions, and the wing disc develops a complex morphology. Finally, during pupal stages the wing disc undergoes morphogenetic processes and then differentiates to form the adult wing and notum. While the bulk of the wing disc comprises epithelial cells, it also includes neurons and glia, and is associated with tracheal cells and muscle precursor cells. The relative simplicity and accessibility of the wing disc, combined with the wealth of genetic tools available in Drosophila, have combined to make it a premier system for identifying genes and deciphering systems that play crucial roles in animal development. Studies in wing imaginal discs have made key contributions to many areas of biology, including tissue patterning, signal transduction, growth control, regeneration, planar cell polarity, morphogenesis, and tissue mechanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bipin Kumar Tripathi
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Kenneth D Irvine
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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6
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Buffry AD, McGregor AP. Micromanagement of Drosophila Post-Embryonic Development by Hox Genes. J Dev Biol 2022; 10:jdb10010013. [PMID: 35225966 PMCID: PMC8883937 DOI: 10.3390/jdb10010013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Hox genes function early in development to determine regional identity in animals. Consequently, the loss or gain of Hox gene expression can change this identity and cause homeotic transformations. Over 20 years ago, it was observed that the role of Hox genes in patterning animal body plans involves the fine-scale regulation of cell fate and identity during development, playing the role of ‘micromanagers’ as proposed by Michael Akam in key perspective papers. Therefore, as well as specifying where structures develop on animal bodies, Hox genes can help to precisely sculpt their morphology. Here, we review work that has provided important insights about the roles of Hox genes in influencing cell fate during post-embryonic development in Drosophila to regulate fine-scale patterning and morphology. We also explore how this is achieved through the regulation of Hox genes, specific co-factors and their complex regulation of hundreds of target genes. We argue that further investigating the regulation and roles of Hox genes in Drosophila post-embryonic development has great potential for understanding gene regulation, cell fate and phenotypic differentiation more generally.
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7
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The Hox protein conundrum: The "specifics" of DNA binding for Hox proteins and their partners. Dev Biol 2021; 477:284-292. [PMID: 34102167 PMCID: PMC8846413 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Homeotic genes (Hox genes) are homeodomain-transcription factors involved in conferring segmental identity along the anterior-posterior body axis. Molecular characterization of HOX protein function raises some interesting questions regarding the source of the binding specificity of the HOX proteins. How do HOX proteins regulate common and unique target specificity across space and time? This review attempts to summarize and interpret findings in this area, largely focused on results from in vitro and in vivo studies in Drosophila and mouse systems. Recent studies related to HOX protein binding specificity compel us to reconsider some of our current models for transcription factor-DNA interactions. It is crucial to study transcription factor binding by incorporating components of more complex, multi-protein interactions in concert with small changes in binding motifs that can significantly impact DNA binding specificity and subsequent alterations in gene expression. To incorporate the multiple elements that can determine HOX protein binding specificity, we propose a more integrative Cooperative Binding model.
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8
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Zecca M, Struhl G. A unified mechanism for the control of Drosophila wing growth by the morphogens Decapentaplegic and Wingless. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001111. [PMID: 33657096 PMCID: PMC8148325 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Development of the Drosophila wing-a paradigm of organ development-is governed by 2 morphogens, Decapentaplegic (Dpp, a BMP) and Wingless (Wg, a Wnt). Both proteins are produced by defined subpopulations of cells and spread outwards, forming gradients that control gene expression and cell pattern as a function of concentration. They also control growth, but how is unknown. Most studies have focused on Dpp and yielded disparate models in which cells throughout the wing grow at similar rates in response to the grade or temporal change in Dpp concentration or to the different amounts of Dpp "equalized" by molecular or mechanical feedbacks. In contrast, a model for Wg posits that growth is governed by a progressive expansion in morphogen range, via a mechanism in which a minimum threshold of Wg sustains the growth of cells within the wing and recruits surrounding "pre-wing" cells to grow and enter the wing. This mechanism depends on the capacity of Wg to fuel the autoregulation of vestigial (vg)-the selector gene that specifies the wing state-both to sustain vg expression in wing cells and by a feed-forward (FF) circuit of Fat (Ft)/Dachsous (Ds) protocadherin signaling to induce vg expression in neighboring pre-wing cells. Here, we have subjected Dpp to the same experimental tests used to elucidate the Wg model and find that it behaves indistinguishably. Hence, we posit that both morphogens act together, via a common mechanism, to control wing growth as a function of morphogen range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myriam Zecca
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Gary Struhl
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
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9
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Muñoz-Nava LM, Alvarez HA, Flores-Flores M, Chara O, Nahmad M. A dynamic cell recruitment process drives growth of the Drosophila wing by overscaling the vestigial expression pattern. Dev Biol 2020; 462:141-151. [PMID: 32197891 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Organs mainly attain their size by cell growth and proliferation, but sometimes also grow through recruitment of undifferentiated cells. Here we investigate the participation of cell recruitment in establishing the pattern of Vestigial (Vg), the product of the wing selector gene in Drosophila. We find that the Vg pattern overscales along the dorsal-ventral (DV) axis of the wing imaginal disc, i.e., it expands faster than the DV length of the pouch. The overscaling of the Vg pattern cannot be explained by differential proliferation, apoptosis, or oriented-cell divisions, but can be recapitulated by a mathematical model that explicitly considers cell recruitment. When impairing cell recruitment genetically, we find that the Vg pattern almost perfectly scales and adult wings are approximately 20% smaller. Conversely, impairing cell proliferation results in very small wings, suggesting that cell recruitment and cell proliferation additively contribute to organ growth in this system. Furthermore, using fluorescent reporter tools, we provide direct evidence that cell recruitment is initiated between early and mid third-instar larval development. Altogether, our work quantitatively shows when, how, and by how much cell recruitment shapes the Vg pattern and drives growth of the Drosophila wing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Manuel Muñoz-Nava
- Department of Physiology, Biophysics, and Neurosciences, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnical Institute (Cinvestav-IPN), Mexico City, 07360, Mexico
| | - Hugo Ariel Alvarez
- Systems Biology Group (SysBio), Institute of Physics of Liquids and Biological Systems (IFLYSIB), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, B1900BTE, Argentina; Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, 1900, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marycruz Flores-Flores
- Department of Physiology, Biophysics, and Neurosciences, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnical Institute (Cinvestav-IPN), Mexico City, 07360, Mexico
| | - Osvaldo Chara
- Systems Biology Group (SysBio), Institute of Physics of Liquids and Biological Systems (IFLYSIB), National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, B1900BTE, Argentina; Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH), Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), Dresden, 01069, Germany
| | - Marcos Nahmad
- Department of Physiology, Biophysics, and Neurosciences, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnical Institute (Cinvestav-IPN), Mexico City, 07360, Mexico.
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10
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Zhang R, Zhang Z, Huang Y, Qian A, Tan A. A single ortholog of teashirt and tiptop regulates larval pigmentation and adult appendage patterning in Bombyx mori. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 121:103369. [PMID: 32243904 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Two paralogous genes, teashirt (tsh) and tiptop (tio), encode zinc-finger transcription factors and play important roles in insect growth and development. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, tsh promotes trunk segmental identities and contributes to the patterning of other tissues during the embryonic stage. During the adult stage, tsh contributes to the specification and patterning of appendages, including the leg, wing and eye. While tio acts redundantly with tsh, flies lacking tio function are viable without deleterious phenotypes. This gene pair is present in the genomes of all Drosophila species but only as a single homologue in several other insect species. In Oncopeltus fasciatus and Tribolium castaneum, tsh/tio has been functionally characterized as specifying the identity of the leg during the adult stage. However, in lepidopteran insects which include large numbers of pests in agriculture and forestry, as well as the major silk producer silkworm Bombyx mori, the biological functions of tsh/tio are still poorly understood. In the current study, we performed functional analysis of tsh/tio by using both CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis and transposon-mediated ectopic expression in B. mori. The results show that loss of tsh/tio function affected pigmentation during the larval stage and appendage pattering during the adult stage. RNA-seq analysis and subsequent q-RT-PCR analysis revealed that depletion of tsh/tio significantly elevated the expression of the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase gene, as well as melanin synthase-related genes during the larval stage. Furthermore, ubiquitous ectopic expression of tsh/tio induces developmental retardation and eventually larval lethality. These data reveal evolutionarily conserved functions of tsh/tio in controlling adult appendage patterning, as well as the novel function of regulating larval pigmentation in B. mori, providing novel insights into how tsh/tio regulates insect growth and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ru Zhang
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China; Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zhongjie Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yongping Huang
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Airong Qian
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China
| | - Anjiang Tan
- Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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11
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Zhao X, Zhang J, Yang Y, Liu W, Zhang J. BTB domain-containing protein 6 is involved in the development of locust wings during the nymph to adult transition. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 150:965-973. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.10.267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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12
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Gou J, Stotsky JA, Othmer HG. Growth control in the Drosophila wing disk. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2020; 12:e1478. [PMID: 31917525 DOI: 10.1002/wsbm.1478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The regulation of size and shape is a fundamental requirement of biological development and has been a subject of scientific study for centuries, but we still lack an understanding of how organisms know when to stop growing. Imaginal wing disks of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which are precursors of the adult wings, are an archetypal tissue for studying growth control. The growth of the disks is dependent on many inter- and intra-organ factors such as morphogens, mechanical forces, nutrient levels, and hormones that influence gene expression and cell growth. Extracellular signals are transduced into gene-control signals via complex signal transduction networks, and since cells typically receive many different signals, a mechanism for integrating the signals is needed. Our understanding of the effect of morphogens on tissue-level growth regulation via individual pathways has increased significantly in the last half century, but our understanding of how multiple biochemical and mechanical signals are integrated to determine whether or not a cell decides to divide is still rudimentary. Numerous fundamental questions are involved in understanding the decision-making process, and here we review the major biochemical and mechanical pathways involved in disk development with a view toward providing a basis for beginning to understand how multiple signals can be integrated at the cell level, and how this translates into growth control at the level of the imaginal disk. This article is categorized under: Analytical and Computational Methods > Computational Methods Biological Mechanisms > Cell Signaling Models of Systems Properties and Processes > Cellular Models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Gou
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Jay A Stotsky
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Hans G Othmer
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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13
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Cooperation of axial and sex specific information controls Drosophila female genitalia growth by regulating the Decapentaplegic pathway. Dev Biol 2019; 454:145-155. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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14
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Guo Z, Qin J, Zhou X, Zhang Y. Insect Transcription Factors: A Landscape of Their Structures and Biological Functions in Drosophila and beyond. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19113691. [PMID: 30469390 PMCID: PMC6274879 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) play essential roles in the transcriptional regulation of functional genes, and are involved in diverse physiological processes in living organisms. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a simple and easily manipulated organismal model, has been extensively applied to study the biological functions of TFs and their related transcriptional regulation mechanisms. It is noteworthy that with the development of genetic tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 and the next-generation genome sequencing techniques in recent years, identification and dissection the complex genetic regulatory networks of TFs have also made great progress in other insects beyond Drosophila. However, unfortunately, there is no comprehensive review that systematically summarizes the structures and biological functions of TFs in both model and non-model insects. Here, we spend extensive effort in collecting vast related studies, and attempt to provide an impartial overview of the progress of the structure and biological functions of current documented TFs in insects, as well as the classical and emerging research methods for studying their regulatory functions. Consequently, considering the importance of versatile TFs in orchestrating diverse insect physiological processes, this review will assist a growing number of entomologists to interrogate this understudied field, and to propel the progress of their contributions to pest control and even human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaojiang Guo
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Jianying Qin
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
- Longping Branch, Graduate School of Hunan University, Changsha 410125, China.
| | - Xiaomao Zhou
- Longping Branch, Graduate School of Hunan University, Changsha 410125, China.
| | - Youjun Zhang
- Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
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15
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Chen XZ, Hu QX, Liu QQ, Wu G. Cloning of Wing-Development-Related Genes and mRNA Expression Under Heat Stress in Chlorpyrifos-Resistant and -Susceptible Plutella xylostella. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15279. [PMID: 30323169 PMCID: PMC6189056 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33315-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chlorpyrifos-resistant (Rc) Plutella xylostella (DBM) shows higher wing-vein injury than chlorpyrifos-susceptible (Sm) DBM under heat stress in our previous study. To investigate the toxicological mechanisms of the differences in injury of wing vein between Rc- and Sm-DBM collected from Fuzhou, China, total ten cDNA sequences of wing-development-related genes were isolated and characterized in DBM, including seven open reading frame (ORF) (ash1, ah2, ash3, ase, dpp, srf and dll encoded 187 amino acids, 231 aa, 223aa, 397aa, 423aa, 229aa and 299aa, respectively), and three partly sequences (salm, ser and wnt-1 encoded 614aa, 369aa and 388aa, respectively). The mRNA expression of the genes was inhibited in Rc- and Sm-DBM under heat stress, as compared with that an average temperature (25 °C). And, in general, significantly higher down-regulated expressions of the mRNA expression of the wing development-related genes were found in Rc-DBM as compared to those in Sm-DBM under heat stress. The results indicated that Sm-DBM displayed higher adaptability at high temperature because of significantly lower inhibition the mRNA expressions of wing-development-related genes. We suggest that significantly higher injury of wing vein showed in Rc-DBM under heat stress might be associated with the strong down-regulation of wing-development-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhun Chen
- Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Qi Xing Hu
- Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Qi Qing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Gang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
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16
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Hu Y, Schmitt-Engel C, Schwirz J, Stroehlein N, Richter T, Majumdar U, Bucher G. A morphological novelty evolved by co-option of a reduced gene regulatory network and gene recruitment in a beetle. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.1373. [PMID: 30135167 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the evolution of morphological novelties have remained enigmatic but co-option of existing gene regulatory networks (GRNs), recruitment of genes and the evolution of orphan genes have all been suggested to contribute. Here, we study a morphological novelty of beetle pupae called gin-trap. By combining the classical candidate gene approach with unbiased screening in the beetle Tribolium castaneum, we find that 70% of the tested components of the wing network were required for gin-trap development. However, many downstream and even upstream components were not included in the co-opted network. Only one gene was recruited from another biological context, but it was essential for the anteroposterior symmetry of the gin-traps, which represents a gin-trap-unique morphological innovation. Our data highlight the importance of co-option and modification of GRNs. The recruitment of single genes may not be frequent in the evolution of morphological novelties, but may be essential for subsequent diversification of the novelties. Finally, after having screened about 28% of annotated genes in the Tribolium genome to identify the genes required for gin-trap development, we found none of them are orphan genes, suggesting that orphan genes may have played only a minor, if any, role in the evolution of gin-traps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonggang Hu
- Department of Evolutionary Developmental Genetics, GZMB, University of Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Schmitt-Engel
- Department of Evolutionary Developmental Genetics, GZMB, University of Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Schwirz
- Department of Evolutionary Developmental Genetics, GZMB, University of Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadi Stroehlein
- Department of Biology, Division of Developmental Biology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tobias Richter
- Department of Biology, Division of Developmental Biology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Upalparna Majumdar
- Department of Biology, Division of Developmental Biology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Gregor Bucher
- Department of Evolutionary Developmental Genetics, GZMB, University of Göttingen, Justus von Liebig Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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17
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Ruiz-Losada M, Blom-Dahl D, Córdoba S, Estella C. Specification and Patterning of Drosophila Appendages. J Dev Biol 2018; 6:jdb6030017. [PMID: 30011921 PMCID: PMC6162442 DOI: 10.3390/jdb6030017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Appendages are external projections of the body that serve the animal for locomotion, feeding, or environment exploration. The appendages of the fruit fly Drosophilamelanogaster are derived from the imaginal discs, epithelial sac-like structures specified in the embryo that grow and pattern during larva development. In the last decades, genetic and developmental studies in the fruit fly have provided extensive knowledge regarding the mechanisms that direct the formation of the appendages. Importantly, many of the signaling pathways and patterning genes identified and characterized in Drosophila have similar functions during vertebrate appendage development. In this review, we will summarize the genetic and molecular mechanisms that lead to the specification of appendage primordia in the embryo and their posterior patterning during imaginal disc development. The identification of the regulatory logic underlying appendage specification in Drosophila suggests that the evolutionary origin of the insect wing is, in part, related to the development of ventral appendages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireya Ruiz-Losada
- Departamento de Biología Molecular and Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM/CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera 1, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - David Blom-Dahl
- Departamento de Biología Molecular and Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM/CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera 1, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sergio Córdoba
- Departamento de Biología Molecular and Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM/CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera 1, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Carlos Estella
- Departamento de Biología Molecular and Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM/CSIC), Nicolás Cabrera 1, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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18
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Sarkar A, Gogia N, Farley K, Payton L, Singh A. Characterization of a morphogenetic furrow specific Gal4 driver in the developing Drosophila eye. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0196365. [PMID: 29702674 PMCID: PMC5922546 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to express a gene of interest in a spatio-temporal manner using Gal4-UAS system has allowed the use of Drosophila model to study various biological phenomenon. During Drosophila eye development, a synchronous wave of differentiation called Morphogenetic furrow (MF) initiates at the posterior margin resulting in differentiation of retinal neurons. This synchronous differentiation is also observed in the differentiating retina of vertebrates. Since MF is highly dynamic, it can serve as an excellent model to study patterning and differentiation. However, there are not any Gal4 drivers available to observe the gain- of- function or loss- of- function of a gene specifically along the dynamic MF. The decapentaplegic (dpp) gene encodes a secreted protein of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily that expresses at the posterior margin and then moves with the MF. However, unlike the MF associated pattern of dpp gene expression, the targeted dpp-Gal4 driver expression is restricted to the posterior margin of the developing eye disc. We screened GMR lines harboring regulatory regions of dpp fused with Gal4 coding region to identify MF specific enhancer of dpp using a GFP reporter gene. We employed immuno-histochemical approaches to detect gene expression. The rationale was that GFP reporter expression will correspond to the dpp expression domain in the developing eye. We identified two new dpp-Gal4 lines, viz., GMR17E04-Gal4 and GMR18D08-Gal4 that carry sequences from first intron region of dpp gene. GMR17E04-Gal4 drives expression along the MF during development and later in the entire pupal retina whereas GMR18D08-Gal4 drives expression of GFP transgene in the entire developing eye disc, which later drives expression only in the ventral half of the pupal retina. Thus, GMR18D08-Gal4 will serve as a new reagent for targeting gene expression in the ventral half of the pupal retina. We compared misexpression phenotypes of Wg, a negative regulator of eye development, using GMR17E04-Gal4, GMR18D08-Gal4 with existing dpp-Gal4 driver. The eye phenotypes generated by using our newly identified MF specific driver are not similar to the ones generated by existing dpp-Gal4 driver. It suggests that misexpression studies along MF needs revisiting using the new Gal4 drivers generated in our studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Sarkar
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
| | - Neha Gogia
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
| | - Kevin Farley
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
| | - Lydia Payton
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
| | - Amit Singh
- Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
- Premedical Program, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
- Center for Tissue Regeneration and Engineering at Dayton (TREND), University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
- The Integrative Science and Engineering Center, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, United States of America
- Affiliate Member, Center for Genome Advocacy, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, United States of America
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19
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Sander M, Eichenlaub T, Herranz H. Oncogenic cooperation between Yorkie and the conserved microRNA miR-8 in the wing disc of Drosophila. Development 2018; 145:dev.153817. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.153817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Tissue growth has to be carefully controlled to generate well-functioning organs. microRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that modulate the activity of target genes and play a pivotal role in animal development. Understanding the functions of microRNAs in development requires the identification of their target genes. Here, we find that the conserved microRNA miR-8/miR-200 controls tissue growth and homeostasis in the Drosophila wing imaginal disc. Upregulation of miR-8 causes the repression of Yorkie, the effector of the Hippo pathway in Drosophila, and reduces tissue size. Remarkably, coexpression of Yorkie and miR-8 causes the formation of neoplastic tumors. We show that upregulation of miR-8 represses the growth inhibitor brinker, and depletion of brinker cooperates with Yorkie in the formation of neoplastic tumors. Hence, miR-8 modulates a positive growth regulator, Yorkie, and a negative growth regulator, brinker. Deregulation of this network can result in the loss of tissue homeostasis and the formation of tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Sander
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Teresa Eichenlaub
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Héctor Herranz
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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20
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Gupta RP, Bajpai A, Sinha P. Selector genes display tumor cooperation and inhibition in Drosophila epithelium in a developmental context-dependent manner. Biol Open 2017; 6:1581-1591. [PMID: 29141951 PMCID: PMC5703612 DOI: 10.1242/bio.027821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
During animal development, selector genes determine identities of body segments and those of individual organs. Selector genes are also misexpressed in cancers, although their contributions to tumor progression per se remain poorly understood. Using a model of cooperative tumorigenesis, we show that gain of selector genes results in tumor cooperation, but in only select developmental domains of the wing, haltere and eye-antennal imaginal discs of Drosophila larva. Thus, the field selector, Eyeless (Ey), and the segment selector, Ultrabithorax (Ubx), readily cooperate to bring about neoplastic transformation of cells displaying somatic loss of the tumor suppressor, Lgl, but in only those developmental domains that express the homeo-box protein, Homothorax (Hth), and/or the Zinc-finger protein, Teashirt (Tsh). In non-Hth/Tsh-expressing domains of these imaginal discs, however, gain of Ey in lgl- somatic clones induces neoplastic transformation in the distal wing disc and haltere, but not in the eye imaginal disc. Likewise, gain of Ubx in lgl- somatic clones induces transformation in the eye imaginal disc but not in its endogenous domain, namely, the haltere imaginal disc. Our results reveal that selector genes could behave as tumor drivers or inhibitors depending on the tissue contexts of their gains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ram Prakash Gupta
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Anjali Bajpai
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Pradip Sinha
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016, India
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21
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Zhang L, Qiu LY, Yang HL, Wang HJ, Zhou M, Wang SG, Tang B. Study on the Effect of Wing Bud Chitin Metabolism and Its Developmental Network Genes in the Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, by Knockdown of TRE Gene. Front Physiol 2017; 8:750. [PMID: 29033849 PMCID: PMC5627005 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens is one of the most serious pests of rice, and there is so far no effective way to manage this pest. However, RNA interference not only can be used to study gene function, but also provide potential opportunities for novel pest management. The development of wing plays a key role in insect physiological activities and mainly involves chitin. Hence, the regulating role of trehalase (TRE) genes on wing bud formation has been studied by RNAi. In this paper, the activity levels of TRE and the contents of the two sugars trehalose and glucose were negatively correlated indicating the potential role of TRE in the molting process. In addition, NlTRE1-1 and NlTRE2 were expressed at higher levels in wing bud tissue than in other tissues, and abnormal molting and wing deformity or curling were noted 48 h after the insect was injected with any double-stranded TRE (dsTRE), even though different TREs have compensatory functions. The expression levels of NlCHS1b, NlCht1, NlCht2, NlCht6, NlCht7, NlCht8, NlCht10, NlIDGF, and NlENGase decreased significantly 48 h after the insect was injected with a mixture of three kinds of dsTREs. Similarly, the TRE inhibitor validamycin can inhibit NlCHS1 and NlCht gene expression. However, the wing deformity was the result of the NlIDGF, NlENGase, NlAP, and NlTSH genes being inhibited when a single dsTRE was injected. These results demonstrate that silencing of TRE gene expression can lead to wing deformities due to the down-regulation of the AP and TSH genes involved in wing development and that the TRE inhibitor validamycin can co-regulate chitin metabolism and the expression of wing development-related genes in wing bud tissue. The results provide a new approach for the prevention and management of N. lugens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ling-Yu Qiu
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hui-Li Yang
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hui-Juan Wang
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Min Zhou
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shi-Gui Wang
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bin Tang
- Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
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22
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Vollmer J, Fried P, Aguilar-Hidalgo D, Sánchez-Aragón M, Iannini A, Casares F, Iber D. Growth control in the Drosophila eye disc by the cytokine Unpaired. Development 2017; 144:837-843. [PMID: 28246213 DOI: 10.1242/dev.141309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental question in developmental biology is how organ size is controlled. We have previously shown that the area growth rate in the Drosophila eye primordium declines inversely proportionally to the increase in its area. How the observed reduction in the growth rate is achieved is unknown. Here, we explore the dilution of the cytokine Unpaired (Upd) as a possible candidate mechanism. In the developing eye, upd expression is transient, ceasing at the time when the morphogenetic furrow first emerges. We confirm experimentally that the diffusion and stability of the JAK/STAT ligand Upd are sufficient to control eye disc growth via a dilution mechanism. We further show that sequestration of Upd by ectopic expression of an inactive form of the receptor Domeless (Dome) results in a substantially lower growth rate, but the area growth rate still declines inversely proportionally to the area increase. This growth rate-to-area relationship is no longer observed when Upd dilution is prevented by the continuous, ectopic expression of Upd. We conclude that a mechanism based on the dilution of the growth modulator Upd can explain how growth termination is controlled in the eye disc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannik Vollmer
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Fried
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Aguilar-Hidalgo
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Máximo Sánchez-Aragón
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Antonella Iannini
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Fernando Casares
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Dagmar Iber
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland .,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
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23
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Song S, Herranz H, Cohen SM. The chromatin remodeling BAP complex limits tumor-promoting activity of the Hippo pathway effector Yki to prevent neoplastic transformation in Drosophila epithelia. Dis Model Mech 2017; 10:1201-1209. [PMID: 28754838 PMCID: PMC5665456 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.030122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Switch/sucrose non-fermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complexes are mutated in many human cancers. In this article, we make use of a Drosophila genetic model for epithelial tumor formation to explore the tumor suppressive role of SWI/SNF complex proteins. Members of the BAP complex exhibit tumor suppressor activity in tissue overexpressing the Yorkie (Yki) proto-oncogene, but not in tissue overexpressing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The Brahma-associated protein (BAP) complex has been reported to serve as a Yki-binding cofactor to support Yki target expression. However, we observed that depletion of BAP leads to ectopic expression of Yki targets both autonomously and non-autonomously, suggesting additional indirect effects. We provide evidence that BAP complex depletion causes upregulation of the Wingless (Wg) and Decapentaplegic (Dpp) morphogens to promote tumor formation in cooperation with Yki.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilin Song
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen 2200N, Denmark
| | - Héctor Herranz
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen 2200N, Denmark
| | - Stephen M Cohen
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen 2200N, Denmark
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24
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Neto M, Naval-Sánchez M, Potier D, Pereira PS, Geerts D, Aerts S, Casares F. Nuclear receptors connect progenitor transcription factors to cell cycle control. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4845. [PMID: 28687780 PMCID: PMC5501803 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04936-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The specification and growth of organs is controlled simultaneously by networks of transcription factors. While the connection between these transcription factors with fate determinants is increasingly clear, how they establish the link with the cell cycle is far less understood. Here we investigate this link in the developing Drosophila eye, where two transcription factors, the MEIS1 homologue hth and the Zn-finger tsh, synergize to stimulate the proliferation of naïve eye progenitors. Experiments combining transcriptomics, open-chromatin profiling, motif analysis and functional assays indicate that these progenitor transcription factors exert a global regulation of the proliferation program. Rather than directly regulating cell cycle genes, they control proliferation through an intermediary layer of nuclear receptors of the ecdysone/estrogen-signaling pathway. This regulatory subnetwork between hth, tsh and nuclear receptors might be conserved from Drosophila to mammals, as we find a significant co-overexpression of their human homologues in specific cancer types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Neto
- CABD, Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology, CSIC-UPO-JA, 41013, Seville, Spain.,i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.,IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Delphine Potier
- School of Medicine, University of Leuven, box 602 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paulo S Pereira
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.,IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
| | - Dirk Geerts
- Department of Medical Biology L2-109, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stein Aerts
- School of Medicine, University of Leuven, box 602 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD, Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology, CSIC-UPO-JA, 41013, Seville, Spain.
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25
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Bosch PS, Ziukaite R, Alexandre C, Basler K, Vincent JP. Dpp controls growth and patterning in Drosophila wing precursors through distinct modes of action. eLife 2017; 6:22546. [PMID: 28675374 PMCID: PMC5560859 DOI: 10.7554/elife.22546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Dpp, a member of the BMP family, is a morphogen that specifies positional information in Drosophila wing precursors. In this tissue, Dpp expressed along the anterior-posterior boundary forms a concentration gradient that controls the expression domains of target genes, which in turn specify the position of wing veins. Dpp also promotes growth in this tissue. The relationship between the spatio-temporal profile of Dpp signalling and growth has been the subject of debate, which has intensified recently with the suggestion that the stripe of Dpp is dispensable for growth. With two independent conditional alleles of dpp, we find that the stripe of Dpp is essential for wing growth. We then show that this requirement, but not patterning, can be fulfilled by uniform, low level, Dpp expression. Thus, the stripe of Dpp ensures that signalling remains above a pro-growth threshold, while at the same time generating a gradient that patterns cell fates. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22546.001 From the wings of a butterfly to the fingers of a human hand, living tissues often have complex and intricate patterns. Developmental biologists have long been fascinated by the signals – called morphogens – that guide how these kinds of pattern develop. Morphogens are substances that are produced by groups of cells and spread to the rest of the tissue to form a gradient. Depending on where they sit along this gradient, cells in the tissue activate different sets of genes, and the resulting pattern of gene activity ultimately defines the position of the different parts of the tissue. Decades worth of studies into how limbs develop in animals from mice to fruit flies have revealed common principles of morphogen gradients that regulate the development of tissue patterns. Morphogens have been shown to help regulate the growth of tissues in a number of different animals as well. However, how the morphogens regulate tissue size and what role their gradients play in this process remain topics of intense debate in the field of developmental biology. In the developing wing of a fruit fly, a morphogen called Dpp is expressed in a thin stripe located in the centre and spreads to the rest of the tissue to form a gradient. Bosch, Ziukaite, Alexandre et al. have now characterised where and when the Dpp morphogen must be produced to regulate both the final size of the fly’s wing and the number of cells the wing eventually contains. The experiments involved preventing the production of Dpp in the developing wing in specific cells and at specific stages of development. This approach confirmed that Dpp must be produced in the central stripe for the wing to grow. Matsuda and Affolter and, independently, Barrio and Milán report the same findings in two related studies. Moreover, Bosch et al. and Barrio and Milán also conclude that the gradient of Dpp throughout the wing is not required for growth. Further work will be needed to explain how the Dpp signal regulates the growth of the wing. The answer to this question will contribute to a better understanding of the role of morphogens in regulating the size of human organs and how a failure to do so might cause developmental disorders. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22546.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Sanchez Bosch
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Konrad Basler
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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26
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Differential Regulation of Cyclin E by Yorkie-Scalloped Signaling in Organ Development. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2017; 7:1049-1060. [PMID: 28143945 PMCID: PMC5345706 DOI: 10.1534/g3.117.039065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Tissue integrity and homeostasis are accomplished through strict spatial and temporal regulation of cell growth and proliferation during development. Various signaling pathways have emerged as major growth regulators across metazoans; yet, how differential growth within a tissue is spatiotemporally coordinated remains largely unclear. Here, we report a role of a growth modulator Yorkie (Yki), the Drosophila homolog of Yes-associated protein (YAP), that differentially regulates its targets in Drosophila wing imaginal discs; whereby Yki interacts with its transcriptional partner, Scalloped (Sd), the homolog of the TEAD/TEF family transcription factor in mammals, to control an essential cell cycle regulator Cyclin E (CycE). Interestingly, when Yki was coexpressed with Fizzy-related (Fzr), a Drosophila endocycle inducer and homolog of Cdh1 in mammals, surrounding hinge cells displayed larger nuclear size than distal pouch cells. The observed size difference is attributable to differential regulation of CycE, a target of Yki and Sd, the latter of which can directly bind to CycE regulatory sequences, and is expressed only in the pouch region of the wing disc starting from the late second-instar larval stage. During earlier stages of larval development, when Sd expression was not detected in the wing disc, coexpression of Fzr and Yki did not cause size differences between cells along the proximal–distal axis of the disc. We show that ectopic CycE promoted cell proliferation and apoptosis, and inhibited transcriptional activity of Yki targets. These findings suggest that spatiotemporal expression of transcription factor Sd induces differential growth regulation by Yki during wing disc development, highlighting coordination between Yki and CycE to control growth and maintain homeostasis.
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JAK/STAT controls organ size and fate specification by regulating morphogen production and signalling. Nat Commun 2017; 8:13815. [PMID: 28045022 PMCID: PMC5216089 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
A stable pool of morphogen-producing cells is critical for the development of any organ or tissue. Here we present evidence that JAK/STAT signalling in the Drosophila wing promotes the cycling and survival of Hedgehog-producing cells, thereby allowing the stable localization of the nearby BMP/Dpp-organizing centre in the developing wing appendage. We identify the inhibitor of apoptosis dIAP1 and Cyclin A as two critical genes regulated by JAK/STAT and contributing to the growth of the Hedgehog-expressing cell population. We also unravel an early role of JAK/STAT in guaranteeing Wingless-mediated appendage specification, and a later one in restricting the Dpp-organizing activity to the appendage itself. These results unveil a fundamental role of the conserved JAK/STAT pathway in limb specification and growth by regulating morphogen production and signalling, and a function of pro-survival cues and mitogenic signals in the regulation of the pool of morphogen-producing cells in a developing organ.
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Drosophila Wnt and STAT Define Apoptosis-Resistant Epithelial Cells for Tissue Regeneration after Irradiation. PLoS Biol 2016; 14:e1002536. [PMID: 27584613 PMCID: PMC5008734 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster larvae irradiated with doses of ionizing radiation (IR) that kill about half of the cells in larval imaginal discs still develop into viable adults. How surviving cells compensate for IR-induced cell death to produce organs of normal size and appearance remains an active area of investigation. We have identified a subpopulation of cells within the continuous epithelium of Drosophila larval wing discs that shows intrinsic resistance to IR- and drug-induced apoptosis. These cells reside in domains of high Wingless (Wg, Drosophila Wnt-1) and STAT92E (sole Drosophila signal transducer and activator of transcription [STAT] homolog) activity and would normally form the hinge in the adult fly. Resistance to IR-induced apoptosis requires STAT and Wg and is mediated by transcriptional repression of the pro-apoptotic gene reaper. Lineage tracing experiments show that, following irradiation, apoptosis-resistant cells lose their identity and translocate to areas of the wing disc that suffered abundant cell death. Our findings provide a new paradigm for regeneration in which it is unnecessary to invoke special damage-resistant cell types such as stem cells. Instead, differences in gene expression within a population of genetically identical epithelial cells can create a subpopulation with greater resistance, which, following damage, survive, alter their fate, and help regenerate the tissue. After widespread radiation damage in the developing fruit fly, organs are formed by regeneration from an apoptosis-resistant subpopulation of cells marked by high levels of Wingless and STAT. Like other insects, Drosophila larvae have epithelial structures called imaginal discs that will give rise to most of the external adult structures, such as wings, limbs, or antennae; these organ precursors are formed by a single layer of epithelial cells that folds into a sac. Imaginal discs manage to regenerate efficiently if they are damaged. Previous studies have shown that dying cells produce signals that activate cell proliferation of some of their neighbors, allowing them to regenerate the disc and thereby enabling the flies to develop into normal adults. But a dedicated stem cell population that contributes to regeneration, if any, remained to be identified. Here, we report the identification of a subpopulation of cells in wing imaginal discs that is more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of radiation and drugs. We show that the protection of these cells depends on two signaling pathways—Wingless and STAT—that are conserved in humans. Following tissue damage by radiation, we observe that protected cells change their location and their identity, allowing them to fill in for dead cells in other parts of the same organ precursor. In sum, this work identified ways in which a subset of cells in Drosophila imaginal wing discs is preserved through radiation exposure so that they could participate in regeneration of the organ after radiation damage. We also discuss how this situation may resemble human cancers.
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Neto M, Aguilar-Hidalgo D, Casares F. Increased avidity for Dpp/BMP2 maintains the proliferation of progenitors-like cells in the Drosophila eye. Dev Biol 2016; 418:98-107. [PMID: 27502436 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Revised: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
During organ development, the progenitor state is transient, and depends on specific combinations of transcription factors and extracellular signals. Not surprisingly, abnormal maintenance of progenitor transcription factors may lead to tissue overgrowth, and the concurrence of signals from the local environment is often critical to trigger this overgrowth. Therefore, identifying specific combinations of transcription factors/signals promoting -or opposing- proliferation in progenitors is essential to understand normal development and disease. We have investigated this issue using the Drosophila eye as model. Transcription factors hth and tsh are transiently expressed in eye progenitors causing the expansion of the progenitor pool. However, if their co-expression is maintained experimentally, cell proliferation continues and differentiation is halted. Here we show that Hth+Tsh-induced tissue overgrowth requires the BMP2 Dpp and the abnormal hyperactivation of its pathway. Rather than using autocrine Dpp expression, Hth+Tsh cells increase their avidity for Dpp, produced locally, by upregulating extracellular matrix components. During normal development, Dpp represses hth and tsh ensuring that the progenitor state is transient. However, cells in which Hth+Tsh expression is forcibly maintained use Dpp to enhance their proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Neto
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Seville, Spain; IBMC/Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Daniel Aguilar-Hidalgo
- Department of Biological Physics, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Seville, Spain.
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Aguilar-Hidalgo D, Becerra-Alonso D, García-Morales D, Casares F. Toward a study of gene regulatory constraints to morphological evolution of the Drosophila ocellar region. Dev Genes Evol 2016; 226:221-33. [PMID: 27038024 PMCID: PMC4896973 DOI: 10.1007/s00427-016-0541-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 02/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The morphology and function of organs depend on coordinated changes in gene expression during development. These changes are controlled by transcription factors, signaling pathways, and their regulatory interactions, which are represented by gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Therefore, the structure of an organ GRN restricts the morphological and functional variations that the organ can experience—its potential morphospace. Therefore, two important questions arise when studying any GRN: what is the predicted available morphospace and what are the regulatory linkages that contribute the most to control morphological variation within this space. Here, we explore these questions by analyzing a small “three-node” GRN model that captures the Hh-driven regulatory interactions controlling a simple visual structure: the ocellar region of Drosophila. Analysis of the model predicts that random variation of model parameters results in a specific non-random distribution of morphological variants. Study of a limited sample of drosophilids and other dipterans finds a correspondence between the predicted phenotypic range and that found in nature. As an alternative to simulations, we apply Bayesian networks methods in order to identify the set of parameters with the largest contribution to morphological variation. Our results predict the potential morphological space of the ocellar complex and identify likely candidate processes to be responsible for ocellar morphological evolution using Bayesian networks. We further discuss the assumptions that the approach we have taken entails and their validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Aguilar-Hidalgo
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain. .,Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187, Dresden, Germany.
| | | | - Diana García-Morales
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain.
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Vollmer J, Fried P, Sánchez-Aragón M, Lopes CS, Casares F, Iber D. A quantitative analysis of growth control in the Drosophila eye disc. Development 2016; 143:1482-90. [PMID: 26965369 DOI: 10.1242/dev.129775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The size and shape of organs is species specific, and even in species in which organ size is strongly influenced by environmental cues, such as nutrition or temperature, it follows defined rules. Therefore, mechanisms must exist to ensure a tight control of organ size within a given species, while being flexible enough to allow for the evolution of different organ sizes in different species. We combined computational modeling and quantitative measurements to analyze growth control in the Drosophila eye disc. We find that the area growth rate declines inversely proportional to the increasing total eye disc area. We identify two growth laws that are consistent with the growth data and that would explain the extraordinary robustness and evolutionary plasticity of the growth process and thus of the final adult eye size. These two growth laws correspond to very different control mechanisms and we discuss how each of these laws constrains the set of candidate biological mechanisms for growth control in the Drosophila eye disc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannik Vollmer
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Fried
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Max Sánchez-Aragón
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, CSIC and Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Campus UPO, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Carla S Lopes
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, CSIC and Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Campus UPO, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Fernando Casares
- Department of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, CABD, CSIC and Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Campus UPO, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Dagmar Iber
- Department of Biosystems, Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Mattenstraße 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland
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Zaballos MA, Cantero W, Azpiazu N. The TALE transcription factor homothorax functions to assemble heterochromatin during Drosophila embryogenesis. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0120662. [PMID: 25794008 PMCID: PMC4368669 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
We have previously identified Homothorax (Hth) as an important factor for the correct assembly of the pericentromeric heterochromatin during the first fast syncytial divisions of the Drosophila embryo. Here we have extended our studies to later stages of embryonic development. We were able to show that hth mutants exhibit a drastic overall reduction in the tri-methylation of H3 in Lys9, with no reduction of the previous di-methylation. One phenotypic outcome of such a reduction is a genome instability visualized by the many DNA breaks observed in the mutant nuclei. Moreover, loss of Hth leads to the opening of closed heterochromatic regions, including the rDNA genomic region. Our data show that the satellite repeats get transcribed in wild type embryos and that this transcription depends on the presence of Hth, which binds to them as well as to the rDNA region. This work indicates that there is an important role of transcription of non-coding RNAs for constitutive heterochromatin assembly in the Drosophila embryo, and suggests that Hth plays an important role in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Angel Zaballos
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” CSIC-UAM, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Walter Cantero
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” CSIC-UAM, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Natalia Azpiazu
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” CSIC-UAM, C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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Domínguez-Cejudo MA, Casares F. Antero-posterior patterning of Drosophila ocelli requires an anti-repressor mechanism within the hh-pathway mediated by the Six3 gene Optix. Development 2015; 142:2801-9. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.125179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
In addition to the compound eyes, most insects possess a set of three dorsal ocelli that develop at the vertices of a triangular cuticle patch, forming the ocellar complex. The wingless and hedgehog signaling pathways, together with the transcription factor encoded by orthodenticle, are known to play major roles in the specification and patterning of the ocellar complex. Specifically, hedgehog is responsible for the choice between ocellus and cuticle fates within the ocellar complex primordium. However, the interaction between signals and transcription factors known to date do not fully explain how this choice is controlled. We show that this binary choice depends on dynamic changes in the domains of hedgehog signaling. In this dynamics, the restricted expression of engrailed, a hedgehog-signaling target, is key because it defines a domain within the complex where hh transcription is maintained while the pathway activity is blocked. We show that the Drosophila Six3, Optix, is expressed in and required for the development of the anterior ocellus specifically. Optix would not act as an ocellar selector, but rather as a patterning gene, limiting the en expression domain. Our results indicate that, despite their genetic and structural similarity, anterior and posterior ocelli are under different genetic control.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. A. Domínguez-Cejudo
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía. Campus UPO, Ctra. Utrera km1, 41013, Sevilla, SPAIN
| | - F. Casares
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía. Campus UPO, Ctra. Utrera km1, 41013, Sevilla, SPAIN
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Brás-Pereira C, Casares F, Janody F. The retinal determination gene dachshund restricts cell proliferation by limiting the activity of the Homothorax-Yorkie complex. Development 2015; 142:1470-9. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.113340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2014] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The Drosophila transcriptional co-activator protein Yorkie and its vertebrate orthologs YAP and TAZ are potent oncogenes, whose activity is normally kept in check by the upstream Hippo kinase module. Upon its translocation into the nucleus, Yorkie forms complexes with several tissue-specific DNA-binding partners, which help to define the tissue-specific target genes of Yorkie. In the progenitor cells of the eye imaginal disc, the DNA-binding transcription factor Homothorax is required for Yorkie-promoted proliferation and survival through regulation of the bantam microRNA (miRNA). The transit from proliferating progenitors to cell cycle quiescent precursors is associated with the progressive loss of Homothorax and gain of Dachshund, a nuclear protein related to the Sno/Ski family of co-repressors. We have identified Dachshund as an inhibitor of Homothorax-Yorkie-mediated cell proliferation. Loss of dachshund induces Yorkie-dependent tissue overgrowth. Conversely, overexpressing dachshund inhibits tissue growth, prevents Yorkie or Homothorax-mediated cell proliferation of disc epithelia and restricts the transcriptional activity of the Yorkie-Homothorax complex on the bantam enhancer in Drosophila cells. In addition, Dachshund collaborates with the Decapentaplegic receptor Thickveins to repress Homothorax and Cyclin B expression in quiescent precursors. The antagonistic roles of Homothorax and Dachshund in Yorkie activity, together with their mutual repression, ensure that progenitor and precursor cells are under distinct proliferation regimes. Based on the crucial role of the human dachshund homolog DACH1 in tumorigenesis, our work suggests that DACH1 might prevent cellular transformation by limiting the oncogenic activity of YAP and/or TAZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Brás-Pereira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras P-2780-156, Portugal
| | - Fernando Casares
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-UPO, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Florence Janody
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras P-2780-156, Portugal
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Characterisation of Drosophila Ubx CPTI000601 and hth CPTI000378 protein trap lines. ScientificWorldJournal 2014; 2014:191535. [PMID: 25389534 PMCID: PMC4214163 DOI: 10.1155/2014/191535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 08/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In Drosophila, protein trap strategies provide powerful approaches for the generation of tagged proteins expressed under endogenous control. Here, we describe expression and functional analysis to evaluate new Ubx and hth protein trap lines generated by the Cambridge Protein Trap project. Both protein traps exhibit spatial and temporal expression patterns consistent with the reported endogenous pattern in the embryo. In imaginal discs, Ubx-YFP is expressed throughout the haltere and 3rd leg imaginal discs, while Hth-YFP is expressed in the proximal regions of haltere and wing discs but not in the pouch region. The UbxCPTI000601 line is semilethal as a homozygote. No T3/A1 to T2 transformations were observed in the embryonic cuticle or the developing midgut. The homozygous survivors, however, exhibit a weak haltere phenotype with a few wing-like marginal bristles on the haltere capitellum. Although hthCPTI000378 is completely lethal as a homozygote, the hthCPTI000378/hthC1 genotype is viable. Using a hth deletion (Df(3R)BSC479) we show that hthCPTI000378/Df(3R)BSC479 adults are phenotypically normal. No transformations were observed in hthCPTI000378, hthCPTI000378/hthC1, or hthCPTI000378/Df(3R)BSC479 embryonic cuticles. We have successfully characterised the Ubx-YFP and Hth-YFP protein trap lines demonstrating that the tagged proteins show appropriate expression patterns and produce at least partially functional proteins.
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Piñeiro C, Lopes CS, Casares F. A conserved transcriptional network regulates lamina development in the Drosophila visual system. Development 2014; 141:2838-47. [PMID: 24924198 DOI: 10.1242/dev.108670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The visual system of insects is a multilayered structure composed externally by the compound eye and internally by the three ganglia of the optic lobe: lamina, medulla and the lobula complex. The differentiation of lamina neurons depends heavily on Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, which is delivered by the incoming photoreceptor axons, and occurs in a wave-like fashion. Despite the primary role of lamina neurons in visual perception, it is still unclear how these neurons are specified from neuroepithelial (NE) progenitors. Here we show that a homothorax (hth)-eyes absent (eya)-sine oculis (so)-dachshund (dac) gene regulatory cassette is involved in this specification. Lamina neurons differentiate from NE progenitors that express hth, eya and so. One of the first events in the differentiation of lamina neurons is the upregulation of dac expression in response to Hh signaling. We show that this dac upregulation, which marks the transition from NE progenitors into lamina precursors, also requires Eya/So, the expression of which is locked in by mutual feedback. dac expression is crucial for lamina differentiation because it ensures repression of hth, a negative regulator of single-minded, and thus dac allows further lamina neuron differentiation. Therefore, the specification of lamina neurons is controlled by coupling the cell-autonomous hth-eya-so-dac regulatory cassette to Hh signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Piñeiro
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Carla S Lopes
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Seville 41013, Spain
| | - Fernando Casares
- CABD (Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology), CSIC-UPO-JA, Seville 41013, Spain
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Refki PN, Armisén D, Crumière AJJ, Viala S, Khila A. Emergence of tissue sensitivity to Hox protein levels underlies the evolution of an adaptive morphological trait. Dev Biol 2014; 392:441-53. [PMID: 24886828 PMCID: PMC4111901 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2014.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2013] [Revised: 05/20/2014] [Accepted: 05/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Growth control scales morphological attributes and, therefore, provides a critical contribution to the evolution of adaptive traits. Yet, the genetic mechanisms underlying growth in the context of specific ecological adaptations are poorly understood. In water striders, adaptation to locomotion on the water surface is associated with allometric and functional changes in thoracic appendages, such that T2-legs, used as propelling oars, are longer than T3-legs, used as steering rudders. The Hox gene Ubx establishes this derived morphology by elongating T2-legs but shortening T3-legs. Using gene expression assays, RNAi knockdown, and comparative transcriptomics, we demonstrate that the evolution of water surface rowing as a novel means of locomotion is associated with the evolution of a dose-dependent promoting-repressing effect of Ubx on leg growth. In the water strider Limnoporus dissortis, T3-legs express six to seven times higher levels of Ubx compared to T2-legs. Ubx RNAi shortens T2-legs and the severity of this phenotype increases with increased depletion of Ubx protein. Conversely, Ubx RNAi lengthens T3-legs but this phenotype is partially rescued when Ubx protein is further depleted. This dose-dependent effect of Ubx on leg growth is absent in non-rowing relatives that retain the ancestral relative leg length. We also show that the spatial patterns of expression of dpp, wg, hh, egfr, dll, exd, hth, and dac are unchanged in Ubx RNAi treatments. This indicates that the dose-dependent opposite effect of Ubx on T2- and T3-legs operates without any apparent effect on the spatial expression of major leg patterning genes. Our data suggest that scaling of adaptive allometries can evolve through changes in the levels of expression of Hox proteins early during ontogeny, and in the sensitivity of the tissues that express them, without any major effects on pattern formation. Ubx is generally expressed at higher levels in T3- relative to T2-legs in semi-aquatic insects. It is only in the derived Gerridae where the high levels of Ubx result in reduced T3-leg length. In the Gerridae, the response of leg tissues to Ubx levels is bimodal. Changes in Ubx regulation and function have evolved in Limnoporus without disrupting patterning hierarchies. Changes in Hox protein levels and emergence of tissue sensitivity to these levels can shape adaptive morphological traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Nagui Refki
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS-UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d׳Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - David Armisén
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS-UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d׳Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Antonin Jean Johan Crumière
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS-UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d׳Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
| | - Séverine Viala
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS-UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d׳Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Abderrahman Khila
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, CNRS-UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d׳Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
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Smith FW, Angelini DR, Jockusch EL. A functional genetic analysis in flour beetles (Tenebrionidae) reveals an antennal identity specification mechanism active during metamorphosis in Holometabola. Mech Dev 2014; 132:13-27. [PMID: 24534744 DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2014.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2013] [Revised: 01/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The antenna was the first arthropod ventral appendage to evolve non-leg identity. Models of antennal evolution have been based on comparisons of antennal and leg identity specification mechanisms in Drosophila melanogaster, a species in which appendages develop from highly derived imaginal discs during the larval period. We test for conservation of the Drosophila antennal identity specification mechanism at metamorphosis in Tribolium castaneum and three other flour beetle species (Tribolium confusum, Tribolium brevicornis and Latheticus oryzae) in the family Tenebrionidae. In Drosophila, loss of function of four transcription factors-homothorax, extradenticle, Distal-less, and spineless-causes large-scale transformations of the antenna to leg identity. Distal-less and spineless function similarly during metamorphosis in T. castaneum. RNA interference (RNAi) targeting homothorax (hth) or extradenticle (exd) caused transformation of the proximal antenna to distal leg identity in flour beetles, but did not affect the identity of the distal antenna. This differs from the functional domain of these genes in early instar Drosophila, where they are required for identity specification throughout the antenna, but matches their functional domain in late instar Drosophila. The similarities between antennal identity specification at metamorphosis in flour beetles and in late larval Drosophila likely reflect the conservation of an ancestral metamorphic developmental mechanism. There were two notable differences in hth/exd loss of function phenotypes between flies and beetles. Flour beetles retained all of their primary segments in both the antenna and legs, whereas flies undergo reduction and fusion of primary segments. This difference in ground state appendage morphology casts doubt on interpretations of developmental ground states as evolutionary atavisms. Additionally, adult Tribolium eyes were transformed to elytron-like structures; we provide a developmental hypothesis for this evolutionarily surprising transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank W Smith
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Rd., U-3043, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA.
| | - David R Angelini
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Rd., U-3043, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA; Department of Biology, Colby College, 5734 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901, USA
| | - Elizabeth L Jockusch
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Rd., U-3043, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA
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Gene duplication, lineage-specific expansion, and subfunctionalization in the MADF-BESS family patterns the Drosophila wing hinge. Genetics 2013; 196:481-96. [PMID: 24336749 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.113.160531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene duplication, expansion, and subsequent diversification are features of the evolutionary process. Duplicated genes can be lost, modified, or altered to generate novel functions over evolutionary timescales. These features make gene duplication a powerful engine of evolutionary change. In this study, we explore these features in the MADF-BESS family of transcriptional regulators. In Drosophila melanogaster, the family contains 16 similar members, each containing an N-terminal, DNA-binding MADF domain and a C-terminal, protein-interacting, BESS domain. Phylogenetic analysis shows that members of the MADF-BESS family are expanded in the Drosophila lineage. Three members, which we name hinge1, hinge2, and hinge3 are required for wing development, with a critical role in the wing hinge. hinge1 is a negative regulator of Winglesss expression and interacts with core wing-hinge patterning genes such as teashirt, homothorax, and jing. Double knockdowns along with heterologous rescue experiments are used to demonstrate that members of the MADF-BESS family retain function in the wing hinge, in spite of expansion and diversification for over 40 million years. The wing hinge connects the blade to the thorax and has critical roles in fluttering during flight. MADF-BESS family genes appear to retain redundant functions to shape and form elements of the wing hinge in a robust and fail-safe manner.
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Percival-Smith A, Sivanantharajah L, Pelling JJH, Teft WA. Developmental competence and the induction of ectopic proboscises in Drosophila melanogaster. Dev Genes Evol 2013; 223:375-387. [DOI: 10.1007/s00427-013-0454-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2013] [Accepted: 09/02/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Corsetti E, Azpiazu N. Functional dissection of the splice variants of the Drosophila gene homothorax (hth). Dev Biol 2013; 384:72-82. [PMID: 24075905 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Revised: 09/11/2013] [Accepted: 09/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Homothorax belongs to the TALE-homeodomain family of transcription factors, together with its vertebrate counterparts, the Meis family of proto-oncogenes. It fulfills many important different functions during embryonic and larval developments in Drosophila, which encompass from subdivision and specification of body parts to assembly of heterochromatin structures. Hth interacts with Extradenticle, another member of the TALE-homeodomain family of conserved transcription factors, to facilitate its entrance to the nucleus. The many different functions described for Hth rely on the complexity of the locus, from which six different isoforms arise. The isoforms can be grouped into full-length and short versions, which contain either one or the two conserved domains of the protein (homeodomain and Exd-interacting domain). We have used molecular and genetic tools to analyze the levels of expression, the distribution and the function of the isoforms during embryonic development. Our results clearly show that the isoforms display distinct levels of expression and are differentially distributed in the embryo. This detailed study also shows that during normal embryonic development not all the Hth isoforms translocate Exd into the nucleus, suggesting that both the proteins can also function separately. We have demonstrated that the full-length Hth protein activates transcription of exd, augmenting the levels of exd mRNA in the cell. The higher levels of Exd protein in those cells facilitate its entrance to the nucleus. Our work demonstrates that hth is a complex gene that should not be considered as a functional unit. The roles of the different isoforms probably rely on their distinct protein domains and conformations and, at the end, on interactions with particular partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Corsetti
- Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" CSIC-UAM, C/Nicolas Cabrera 1, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Slattery M, Voutev R, Ma L, Nègre N, White KP, Mann RS. Divergent transcriptional regulatory logic at the intersection of tissue growth and developmental patterning. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003753. [PMID: 24039600 PMCID: PMC3764184 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 07/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Yorkie/Yap transcriptional coactivator is a well-known regulator of cellular proliferation in both invertebrates and mammals. As a coactivator, Yorkie (Yki) lacks a DNA binding domain and must partner with sequence-specific DNA binding proteins in the nucleus to regulate gene expression; in Drosophila, the developmental regulators Scalloped (Sd) and Homothorax (Hth) are two such partners. To determine the range of target genes regulated by these three transcription factors, we performed genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments for each factor in both the wing and eye-antenna imaginal discs. Strong, tissue-specific binding patterns are observed for Sd and Hth, while Yki binding is remarkably similar across both tissues. Binding events common to the eye and wing are also present for Sd and Hth; these are associated with genes regulating cell proliferation and “housekeeping” functions, and account for the majority of Yki binding. In contrast, tissue-specific binding events for Sd and Hth significantly overlap enhancers that are active in the given tissue, are enriched in Sd and Hth DNA binding sites, respectively, and are associated with genes that are consistent with each factor's previously established tissue-specific functions. Tissue-specific binding events are also significantly associated with Polycomb targeted chromatin domains. To provide mechanistic insights into tissue-specific regulation, we identify and characterize eye and wing enhancers of the Yki-targeted bantam microRNA gene and demonstrate that they are dependent on direct binding by Hth and Sd, respectively. Overall these results suggest that both Sd and Hth use distinct strategies – one shared between tissues and associated with Yki, the other tissue-specific, generally Yki-independent and associated with developmental patterning – to regulate distinct gene sets during development. The Hippo tumor suppressor pathway controls proliferation in a tissue-nonspecific fashion in Drosophila epithelial progenitor tissues via the transcriptional coactivator Yorkie (Yki). However, despite the tissue-nonspecific role that Yki plays in tissue growth, the transcription factors that recruit Yki to DNA, most notably Scalloped (Sd) and Homothorax (Hth), are important regulators of developmental patterning with many tissue-specific functions. Thus, these three transcriptional regulators – Yki, Sd, and Hth – provide a model for exploring the properties of protein-DNA interactions that regulate both tissue-shared and tissue-specific functions. With this goal in mind, we identified the positions in the fly genome that are bound by Yki, Sd, and Hth in the progenitors of the wing and eye-antenna structures of the fly. These data not only provide a global view of the Yki gene regulatory network, they reveal an unusual amount of tissue specificity in the genomic regions targeted by Sd and Hth, but not Yki. The data also reveal that tissue-specific binding is very likely to overlap tissue-specific enhancer regions, provide important clues for how tissue-specific Sd and Hth binding occurs, and support the idea that gene regulatory networks are plastic, with spatial differences in binding significantly impacting network structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Slattery
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Roumen Voutev
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Lijia Ma
- Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Nicolas Nègre
- Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Université de Montpellier 2 and INRA, UMR1333 DGIMI, Montpellier, France
| | - Kevin P. White
- Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology and Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Richard S. Mann
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Ayala-Camargo A, Anderson AM, Amoyel M, Rodrigues AB, Flaherty MS, Bach EA. JAK/STAT signaling is required for hinge growth and patterning in the Drosophila wing disc. Dev Biol 2013; 382:413-26. [PMID: 23978534 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Revised: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 08/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
JAK/STAT signaling is localized to the wing hinge, but its function there is not known. Here we show that the Drosophila STAT Stat92E is downstream of Homothorax and is required for hinge development by cell-autonomously regulating hinge-specific factors. Within the hinge, Stat92E activity becomes restricted to gap domain cells that lack Nubbin and Teashirt. While gap domain cells lacking Stat92E have significantly reduced proliferation, increased JAK/STAT signaling there does not expand this domain. Thus, this pathway is necessary but not sufficient for gap domain growth. We show that reduced Wingless (Wg) signaling dominantly inhibits Stat92E activity in the hinge. However, ectopic JAK/STAT signaling does not perturb Wg expression in the hinge. We report negative interactions between Stat92E and the notum factor Araucan, resulting in restriction of JAK/STAT signaling from the notum. In addition, we find that the distal factor Nub represses the ligand unpaired as well as Stat92E activity. These data suggest that distal expansion of JAK/STAT signaling is deleterious to wing blade development. Indeed, mis-expression of Unpaired within the presumptive wing blade causes small, stunted adult wings. We conclude that JAK/STAT signaling is critical for hinge fate specification and growth of the gap domain and that its restriction to the hinge is required for proper wing development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidee Ayala-Camargo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016-6402, USA
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Zohar-Stoopel A, Gonen N, Mahroum M, Ben-Zvi DS, Toledano H, Salzberg A. Homothorax plays autonomous and nonautonomous roles in proximodistal axis formation and migration of the Drosophila renal tubules. Dev Dyn 2013; 243:132-44. [PMID: 23821438 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.24011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2013] [Revised: 06/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The Drosophila Malpighian tubules (MpTs) serve as a functional equivalent of the mammalian renal tubules. The MpTs are composed of two pairs of epithelial tubes that bud from the midgut-hindgut boundary during embryogenesis. The MpT primordia grow, elongate and migrate through the body cavity to assume their final position and shape. The stereotypic pattern of MpT migration is regulated by multiple intrinsic and extrinsic signals, many of which are still obscure. In this work, we implicate the TALE-class homeoprotein Homothorax (Hth) in MpT patterning. We show that in the absence of Hth the tubules fail to rearrange and migrate. Hth plays both autonomous and nonautonomous roles in this developmental process. Within the tubules Hth is required for convergent extension and for defining distal versus proximal cell identities. The difference between distal and proximal cell identities seems to be required for proper formation of the leading loop. Outside the tubules, wide-range mesodermal expression of Hth is required for directing anterior migration. The nonautonomous effects of Hth on MpT migration can be partially attributed to its effects on homeotic determination along the anterior posterior axis of the embryo and to its effects on stellate cell (SC) incorporation into the MpT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adi Zohar-Stoopel
- Department of Genetics, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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Epithelial neoplasia in Drosophila entails switch to primitive cell states. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2013; 110:E2163-72. [PMID: 23708122 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1212513110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Only select cell types in an organ display neoplasia when targeted oncogenically. How developmental lineage hierarchies of these cells prefigure their neoplastic propensities is not yet well-understood. Here we show that neoplastic Drosophila epithelial cells reverse their developmental commitments and switch to primitive cell states. In a context of alleviated tissue surveillance, for example, loss of Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) tumor suppressor in the wing primordium induced epithelial neoplasia in its Homothorax (Hth)-expressing proximal domain. Transcriptional profile of proximally transformed mosaic wing epithelium and functional tests revealed tumor cooperation by multiple signaling pathways. In contrast, lgl(-) clones in the Vestigial (Vg)-expressing distal wing epithelium were eliminated by cell death. Distal lgl(-) clones, however, could transform when both tissue surveillance and cell death were compromised genetically and, alternatively, when the transcription cofactor of Hippo signaling pathway, Yorkie (Yki), was activated, or when Ras/EGFR signaling was up-regulated. Furthermore, transforming distal lgl(-) clones displayed loss of Vg, suggesting reversal of their terminal cell fate commitment. In contrast, reinforcing a distal (wing) cell fate commitment in lgl(-) clones by gaining Vg arrested their neoplasia and induced cell death. We also show that neoplasia in both distal and proximal lgl(-) clones could progress in the absence of Hth, revealing Hth-independent wing epithelial neoplasia. Likewise, neoplasia in the eye primordium resulted in loss of Elav, a retinal cell marker; these, however, switched to an Hth-dependent primitive cell state. These results suggest a general characteristic of "cells-of-origin" in epithelial cancers, namely their propensity for switch to primitive cell states.
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Denholm B, Hu N, Fauquier T, Caubit X, Fasano L, Skaer H. The tiptop/teashirt genes regulate cell differentiation and renal physiology in Drosophila. Development 2013; 140:1100-10. [PMID: 23404107 PMCID: PMC3583044 DOI: 10.1242/dev.088989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The physiological activities of organs are underpinned by an interplay between the distinct cell types they contain. However, little is known about the genetic control of patterned cell differentiation during organ development. We show that the conserved Teashirt transcription factors are decisive for the differentiation of a subset of secretory cells, stellate cells, in Drosophila melanogaster renal tubules. Teashirt controls the expression of the water channel Drip, the chloride conductance channel CLC-a and the Leukokinin receptor (LKR), all of which characterise differentiated stellate cells and are required for primary urine production and responsiveness to diuretic stimuli. Teashirt also controls a dramatic transformation in cell morphology, from cuboidal to the eponymous stellate shape, during metamorphosis. teashirt interacts with cut, which encodes a transcription factor that underlies the differentiation of the primary, principal secretory cells, establishing a reciprocal negative-feedback loop that ensures the full differentiation of both cell types. Loss of teashirt leads to ineffective urine production, failure of homeostasis and premature lethality. Stellate cell-specific expression of the teashirt paralogue tiptop, which is not normally expressed in larval or adult stellate cells, almost completely rescues teashirt loss of expression from stellate cells. We demonstrate conservation in the expression of the family of tiptop/teashirt genes in lower insects and establish conservation in the targets of Teashirt transcription factors in mouse embryonic kidney.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Denholm
- Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
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Hatini V, Kula-Eversole E, Nusinow D, Del Signore SJ. Essential roles for stat92E in expanding and patterning the proximodistal axis of the Drosophila wing imaginal disc. Dev Biol 2013; 378:38-50. [PMID: 23499656 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2012] [Revised: 02/17/2013] [Accepted: 02/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The Drosophila wing imaginal disc is subdivided along the proximodistal axis into the distal pouch, the hinge, the surrounding pleura, and the notum. While the genetic pathways that specify the identity of each of these domains have been well studied, the mechanisms that coordinate the relative expansion of these domains are not well understood. Here we investigated the role of the stat92E signal transducer and activator of transcription in wing proximodistal development. We find that stat92E is active ubiquitously in early wing imaginal discs, where it acts to inhibit the induction of ectopic wing fields. Subsequently, stat92E activity is down regulated in the notum and distal pouch. These dynamics coincide with and contribute to the proportional subdivision and expansion of these primordia. As development proceeds, stat92E activity becomes restricted to the hinge, where it promotes normal expansion of the hinge, and restricts expansion of the notum. We also find that stat92E is required autonomously to specify dorsal pleura identity and inhibit notum identity to properly subdivide the body wall. Our data suggest that stat92E activity is regulated along the proximodistal axis to pattern this axis and control the relative expansion of the pouch, hinge, and notum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Hatini
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy & Cellular Biology, Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
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Sambrani N, Hudry B, Maurel-Zaffran C, Zouaz A, Mishra R, Merabet S, Graba Y. Distinct molecular strategies for Hox-mediated limb suppression in Drosophila: from cooperativity to dispensability/antagonism in TALE partnership. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003307. [PMID: 23505377 PMCID: PMC3591290 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2012] [Accepted: 12/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence following gene duplication of a large repertoire of Hox paralogue proteins underlies the importance taken by Hox proteins in controlling animal body plans in development and evolution. Sequence divergence of paralogous proteins accounts for functional specialization, promoting axial morphological diversification in bilaterian animals. Yet functionally specialized paralogous Hox proteins also continue performing ancient common functions. In this study, we investigate how highly divergent Hox proteins perform an identical function. This was achieved by comparing in Drosophila the mode of limb suppression by the central (Ultrabithorax and AbdominalA) and posterior class (AbdominalB) Hox proteins. Results highlight that Hox-mediated limb suppression relies on distinct modes of DNA binding and a distinct use of TALE cofactors. Control of common functions by divergent Hox proteins, at least in the case studied, relies on evolving novel molecular properties. Thus, changes in protein sequences not only provide the driving force for functional specialization of Hox paralogue proteins, but also provide means to perform common ancient functions in distinct ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagraj Sambrani
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Hudry
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
| | - Corinne Maurel-Zaffran
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
| | - Amel Zouaz
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
| | - Rakesh Mishra
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, India
| | - Samir Merabet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
| | - Yacine Graba
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille Luminy (IBDML, UMR 7288), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, Marseille, France
- * E-mail:
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Aguilar-Hidalgo D, Domínguez-Cejudo MA, Amore G, Brockmann A, Lemos MC, Córdoba A, Casares F. A Hh-driven gene network controls specification, pattern and size of the Drosophila simple eyes. Development 2012; 140:82-92. [PMID: 23154412 DOI: 10.1242/dev.082172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
During development, extracellular signaling molecules interact with intracellular gene networks to control the specification, pattern and size of organs. One such signaling molecule is Hedgehog (Hh). Hh is known to act as a morphogen, instructing different fates depending on the distance to its source. However, how Hh, when signaling across a cell field, impacts organ-specific transcriptional networks is still poorly understood. Here, we investigate this issue during the development of the Drosophila ocellar complex. The development of this sensory structure, which is composed of three simple eyes (or ocelli) located at the vertices of a triangular patch of cuticle on the dorsal head, depends on Hh signaling and on the definition of three domains: two areas of eya and so expression--the prospective anterior and posterior ocelli--and the intervening interocellar domain. Our results highlight the role of the homeodomain transcription factor engrailed (en) both as a target and as a transcriptional repressor of hh signaling in the prospective interocellar region. Furthermore, we identify a requirement for the Notch pathway in the establishment of en maintenance in a Hh-independent manner. Therefore, hh signals transiently during the specification of the interocellar domain, with en being required here for hh signaling attenuation. Computational analysis further suggests that this network design confers robustness to signaling noise and constrains phenotypic variation. In summary, using genetics and modeling we have expanded the ocellar gene network to explain how the interaction between the Hh gradient and this gene network results in the generation of stable mutually exclusive gene expression domains. In addition, we discuss some general implications our model may have in some Hh-driven gene networks.
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Wang W, Tindell N, Yan S, Yoder JH. Homeotic functions of the Teashirt transcription factor during adult Drosophila development. Biol Open 2012; 2:18-29. [PMID: 23336073 PMCID: PMC3545265 DOI: 10.1242/bio.20122915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2012] [Accepted: 09/24/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
During Drosophila development region-specific regulation of target genes by Hox proteins is modulated by genetic interactions with various cofactors and genetic collaborators. During embryogenesis one such modulator of Hox target specificity is the zinc-finger transcription factor Teashirt (Tsh) that is expressed in the developing trunk and cooperatively functions with trunk-specific Hox proteins to promote appropriate segment fate. This embryonic function of Tsh is characterized as homeotic since loss of embryonic Tsh activity leads to transformation of trunk segments toward head identity. In addition to this embryonic homeotic role, Tsh also performs vital Hox-independent functions through patterning numerous embryonic, larval and adult structures. Here we address whether the homeotic function of Tsh is maintained throughout development by investigating its contribution to patterning the adult abdomen. We show that Tsh is expressed throughout the developing abdomen and that this expression is dependent on the three Bithorax Hox proteins Ultrabithorax, Abdominal-A and Abdominal-B. Conditional reduction of Tsh activity during pupation reveals broad homeotic roles for this transcription factor throughout the adult abdomen. Additionally we show that, as during embryogenesis, the tsh paralog tiptop (tio) plays a partially redundant role in this homeotic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Box 870344, University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 , USA
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