<i>Soul</i> is a master control gene governing the development of the <i>Drosophila</i> prothoracic gland.

ABSTRACT: The prothoracic gland (PG) is a major insect endocrine organ. It is the principal source of insect steroid hormones, and critical for key developmental events such as the molts, the establishment of critical weight (CW), pupation, and sexual maturation. However, little is known about the developmental processes that regulate PG morphology. In this study, we identified soul, which encodes a PG-specific basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor. We demonstrate that Tap, also a bHLH protein, dimerizes with Soul. Both are expressed in the developing PG. Interfering with either soul or tap function caused strikingly similar phenotypes, resulting in small and fragmented PGs, the abolishment of steroid hormone-producing gene expression, larval arrest, and a failure t

SUBMITTER: Liu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11459192 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature