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Promiscuity in post-transcriptional control of gene expression: Drosophila sex-lethal and its regulatory partnerships.

ABSTRACT: The Drosophila RNA-binding protein Sex-lethal (Sxl) is a potent post-transcriptional regulator of gene expression that controls female development. It regulates the expression of key factors involved in sex-specific differences in morphology, behavior, and dosage compensation. Functional Sxl protein is only expressed in female flies, where it binds to U-rich RNA motifs present in its target mRNAs to regulate their fate. Sxl is a very versatile regulator that, by shuttling between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, can regulate almost all aspects of post-transcriptional gene expression including RNA processing, nuclear export, and translation. For these functions, Sxl employs multiple interactions to either antagonize RNA-processing factors or to recruit various coregulators, thus allowing it to establish a female-specific gene expression pattern. Here, we summarize the current knowledge about Sxl function and review recent mechanistic and structural studies that further our understanding of how such a seemingly 'simple' RNA-binding protein can exert this plethora of different functions.

SUBMITTER: Moschall R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5488161 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Promiscuity in post-transcriptional control of gene expression: Drosophila sex-lethal and its regulatory partnerships.

Moschall Rebecca R Gaik Monika M Medenbach Jan J

FEBS letters 20170428 11

The Drosophila RNA-binding protein Sex-lethal (Sxl) is a potent post-transcriptional regulator of gene expression that controls female development. It regulates the expression of key factors involved in sex-specific differences in morphology, behavior, and dosage compensation. Functional Sxl protein is only expressed in female flies, where it binds to U-rich RNA motifs present in its target mRNAs to regulate their fate. Sxl is a very versatile regulator that, by shuttling between the nucleus and ...[more]

PMID: 28391641

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Sex determining mechanisms are evolutionarily labile and related species often use different primary signals and gene regulatory networks. This is well illustrated by the sex determining cascade of Drosophila fruitflies, which have recruited Sex-lethal as the master switch and cellular memory of sexual identity, a role performed in other insects by the gene transformer. Here we investigate the evolutionary change in the coding sequences of sex determining genes associated with the recruitment of Sex-lethal. We analyze sequences of Sex-lethal itself, its Drosophila paralogue sister-or-Sex-lethal and downstream targets transformer and doublesex. RESULTS: We find that the recruitment of sister-or-Sex-lethal was associated with a number of adaptive amino acid substitutions, followed by a tightening of purifying selection within the Drosophila clade. Sequences of the paralogue sister-or-Sex-lethal, in contrast, show a signature of rampant positive selection and relaxation of purifying selection. The recruitment of Sex-lethal as top regulator and memory gene is associated with a significant release from purifying selection in transformer throughout the Drosophila clade. In addition, doublesex shows a signature of positive selection and relaxation of purifying selection in the Drosophila clade. A similar pattern is seen in sequences from the sister Tephritidae clade. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of molecular evolution we observe for Sex-lethal and its paralogue sister-or-Sex-lethal is not characteristic of a duplication followed by neo-functionalization. Rather, evidence suggests a sub-functionalization scenario achieved through the evolution of sophisticated splicing. As expected, we find that transformer evolves under relaxed purifying selection after the recruitment of Sex-lethal in Drosophila. Finally, the observation of doublesex adaptation in both Drosophila and Tephritidae suggests that these changes are due to ongoing adaptation of downstream sex-specific regulation, rather than being associated the recruitment of Sex-lethal and the resulting change in the topology of the sex determining cascade.

Dataset Information

Promiscuity in post-transcriptional control of gene expression: Drosophila sex-lethal and its regulatory partnerships.

Publications

Promiscuity in post-transcriptional control of gene expression: Drosophila sex-lethal and its regulatory partnerships.

Similar Datasets

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