miR-7 Buffers Differentiation in the Developing Drosophila Visual System
Publication Date
2017-08-08Journal Title
Cell Reports
ISSN
2211-1247
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
20
Issue
6
Pages
1255-1261
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Caygill, E., & Brand, A. (2017). miR-7 Buffers Differentiation in the Developing Drosophila Visual System. Cell Reports, 20 (6), 1255-1261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.07.047
Abstract
The 40,000 neurons of the medulla, the largest visual processing center of the $\textit{Drosophila}$ brain, derive from a sheet of neuroepithelial cells. During larval development, a wave of differentiation sweeps across the neuroepithelium, converting neuroepithelial cells into neuroblasts that sequentially express transcription factors specifying different neuronal cell fates. The switch from neuroepithelial cells to neuroblasts is controlled by a complex gene regulatory network and is marked by the expression of the proneural gene $\textit{l’sc}$. We discovered that microRNA $\textit{miR-7}$ is expressed at the transition between neuroepithelial cells and neuroblasts. We showed that $\textit{miR-7}$ promotes neuroepithelial cell-to-neuroblast transition by targeting downstream Notch effectors to limit Notch signaling. $\textit{miR-7}$ acts as a buffer to ensure that a precise and stereotypical pattern of transition is maintained, even under conditions of environmental stress, echoing the role that $\textit{miR-7}$ plays in the eye imaginal disc. This common mechanism reflects the importance of robust visual system development.
Sponsorship
This work was funded by a Wellcome Trust Programme grant (092545), a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award (103792), and a BBSRC Project Grant (BB/L007800/1) to A.H.B. A.H.B. acknowledges core funding to the Gurdon Institute from the Wellcome Trust (092096) and CRUK (C6946/A14492).
Funder references
Wellcome Trust (092545/Z/10/Z)
BBSRC (BB/L007800/1)
WELLCOME TRUST (103792/Z/14/Z)
Royal Society (RP150061)
Wellcome Trust (092096/Z/10/Z)
Cancer Research UK (A14492)
Embargo Lift Date
2100-01-01
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.07.047
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/265786
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International, Attribution 4.0 International, Attribution 4.0 International