Temporal regulation of metamorphic processes in Drosophila by the let-7 and miR-125 heterochronic microRNAs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The let-7 and lin-4 microRNAs belong to a class of temporally expressed, noncoding regulatory RNAs that function as heterochronic switch genes in the nematode C. elegans. Heterochronic genes control the relative timing of events during development and are considered a major force in the rapid evolution of new morphologies. let-7 is highly conserved and in Drosophila is temporally coregulated with the lin-4 homolog, miR-125. Little is known, however, about their requirement outside the nematode or whether they universally control the timing of developmental processes.

Results

We report the generation of a Drosophila mutant that lacks let-7 and miR-125 activities and that leads to a pleiotropic phenotype arising during metamorphosis. We focus on two defects and demo

SUBMITTER: Caygill EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2736146 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature