drosophila micrornas 263ab confer robustness during development by protecting nascent sense organs from apoptosis果蝇microrna 263 ab在开发过程中带来的鲁棒性,从细胞凋亡保护新生的感觉器官.pdfVIP

Drosophila microRNAs 263a/b Confer Robustness during Development by Protecting Nascent Sense Organs from Apoptosis ´ 1,2¤a 1 ¤b 1,3 ¤c Valerie Hilgers , Natascha Bushati * , Stephen M. Cohen * 1Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 2 PhD Programme, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, 3 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore Abstract miR-263a/b are members of a conserved family of microRNAs that are expressed in peripheral sense organs across the animal kingdom. Here we present evidence that miR-263a and miR-263b play a role in protecting Drosophila mechanosensory bristles from apoptosis by down-regulating the pro-apoptotic gene head involution defective. Both microRNAs are expressed in the bristle progenitors, and despite a difference in their seed sequence, they share this key common target. In miR-263a and miR- 263b deletion mutants, loss of bristles appears to be sporadic, suggesting that the role of the microRNAs may be to ensure robustness of the patterning process by promoting survival of these functionally specified cells. In the context of the retina, this mechanism ensures that the interommatidial bristles are protected during the developmentally programmed wave of cell death that prunes excess cells in order to refine the pattern of the pupal retina. Citation: Hilgers V, Bushati N, Cohen SM (2010) Drosophila microRNAs 263a/b Confer Robustness during Development by Protecting Nascent Sense Organs from Apoptosis. PLoS Biol 8(6): e1000396. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000396 Academic Editor: Marv Wickens, University of Wisconsin, United States of America Received November 24, 2009; Accepted May 6, 2010; Published June 15, 2010