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Structure and transcription of the singed locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Developmental and genetic studies of the singed gene of Drosophila melanogaster indicate that the gene has a role in somatic cells during the formation of adult bristles and hairs, and in the female germline during oogenesis. During metamorphosis a single 3.6-kilobase (kb) RNA is made, and this RNA is also present in adults and early embryos. Early embryos and adult females have additional 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs. The RNAs differ only in the length of the 3' untranslated region and a single gene product of 57 kilodaltons is predicted. Analysis of RNA from females lacking ovaries suggests that the 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs are made only in ovaries. The absence of the 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs in pupae and the time course of their appearance in adult females after eclosion suggests that transcription of singed in the ovary is from middle to late stages of oogenesis. Analysis of RNA in embryos from the reciprocal crosses between wild type and singed-3 showed that all three RNAs are maternally inherited with very little zygotic transcription in embryos. The mutation singed-3 appears to separate the two requirements for singed function as it has an extreme effect upon bristle development, but does not obviously affect oogenesis. In singed-3, there is a deletion at the 5' end of the gene, but the coding region is intact. Transcription in singed-3 is from a cryptic promoter in the upstream flanking sequences which is sufficiently active during oogenesis for fertility, but less active than the wild-type promoter during metamorphosis. The role of the single singed gene product may be in the asymmetric organization and/or movement of cytoplasmic components.

SUBMITTER: Paterson J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1204772 | biostudies-other | 1991 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Structure and transcription of the singed locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

Paterson J J O'Hare K K

Genetics 19911201 4

Developmental and genetic studies of the singed gene of Drosophila melanogaster indicate that the gene has a role in somatic cells during the formation of adult bristles and hairs, and in the female germline during oogenesis. During metamorphosis a single 3.6-kilobase (kb) RNA is made, and this RNA is also present in adults and early embryos. Early embryos and adult females have additional 3.3- and 3.0-kb RNAs. The RNAs differ only in the length of the 3' untranslated region and a single gene pr ...[more]

PMID: 1723709

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Project description:Lim3 encodes an RNA polymerase II transcription factor with a key role in neuron specification. It was also identified as a candidate gene that affects lifespan. These pleiotropic effects indicate the fundamental significance of the potential interplay between neural development and lifespan control. The goal of this study was to analyze the causal relationships between Lim3 structural variations, and gene expression and lifespan changes, and to provide insights into regulatory pathways controlling lifespan. Fifty substitution lines containing second chromosomes from a Drosophila natural population were used to analyze the association between lifespan and sequence variation in the 5'-regulatory region, and first exon and intron of Lim3A, in which we discovered multiple transcription start sites (TSS). The core and proximal promoter organization for Lim3A and a previously unknown mRNA named Lim3C were described. A haplotype of two markers in the Lim3A regulatory region was significantly associated with variation in lifespan. We propose that polymorphisms in the regulatory region affect gene transcription, and consequently lifespan. Indeed, five polymorphic markers located within 380 to 680 bp of the Lim3A major TSS, including two markers associated with lifespan variation, were significantly associated with the level of Lim3A transcript, as evaluated by real time RT-PCR in embryos, adult heads, and testes. A naturally occurring polymorphism caused a six-fold change in gene transcription and a 25% change in lifespan. Markers associated with long lifespan and intermediate Lim3A transcription were present in the population at high frequencies. We hypothesize that polymorphic markers associated with Lim3A expression are located within the binding sites for proteins that regulate gene function, and provide general rather than tissue-specific regulation of transcription, and that intermediate levels of Lim3A expression confer a selective advantage and longer lifespan.

Dataset Information

Structure and transcription of the singed locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

Publications

Structure and transcription of the singed locus of Drosophila melanogaster.

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