Single-cell transcriptomics of the Drosophila ring gland identifies SoxN–Vvl complex as key regulator of juvenile hormone biosynthesis
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster
PROVIDER: GSE300881 | GEO | 2026/01/20
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:In Drosophila melanogaster larvae the ring gland is a control center that orchestrates major developmental transitions. It is a composite organ, consisting of the prothoracic gland, the corpus allatum and the corpora cardiaca, each of which synthesizes and secretes a different hormone. Until now, the ring gland’s broader developmental roles beyond endocrine secretion have not been explored. RNA sequencing and analysis of a new transcriptome resource from D. melanogaster wandering third instar larval ring glands has provided a fascinating insight into the diversity of developmental signalling in this organ. We have found strong enrichment of expression of two gene pathways not previously associated with the ring gland: immune response and fatty acid metabolism. We have also uncovered strong expression for many uncharacterized genes. Additionally, RNA interference against ring gland-enriched cytochrome p450s Cyp6u1 and Cyp6g2 produced a lethal ecdysone deficiency and a juvenile hormone deficiency respectively, flagging a critical role for these genes in hormone synthesis. This transcriptome provides a valuable new resource for investigation of roles played by the ring gland in governing insect development.
2016-11-27 | GSE76304 | GEO
Project description:kdm5 is an essential gene in Drosophila that has critical developmental roles in the prothoracic gland cells of the larval ring gland. We performed a bulk transcriptome analysis of the larval ring gland in w[1118] (wild type) and kdm5[140] (null mutant) in order to identify genes in the prothoracic gland involved in the lethality of kdm5 null mutants. We found that the absence of kdm5 causes dysregulation of genes involved in various metabolic pathways. In particular, genes both bound by KDM5 and differentially expressed in this cell type are involved in regulation of mitochondrial biology and autophagy.
2023-10-16 | GSE229075 | GEO
Project description:Juvenile hormone (JH) is produced and secreted by corpora allata (CA) during larval stages. JH biosynthesis from acetyl-CoA includes 13 enzymatic steps. Genes for 10 of those enzymes have been identified from Bombyx mori. It was also reported that they are basically expressed selectively in CA. Genes for the other 3 enzymes were recently reported from other insects, i.e., farnesyl diphosphate pyrophosphatase (FPPP) from Drosophila and farnesol dehydrogenase (FolD) and farnesal dehydrogenase (FalD) from Aedes. In order to reveal the expression profiles of these genes in Bombyx CA and to find other candidate genes involved in JH biosynthesis, we performed a transcriptomic analysis in corpora cardiaca-CA (CC-CA) complexes using a custom-made DNA microarray on which sequences from CC-CA EST libraries and genome-widely predicted genes are loaded. CC-CA complexes vigorously expressed JH-biosynthetic genes identified in Bombyx as well as genes involved in methyl-group metabolism and ribosomal protein genes; this is suitable for JH production. Bombyx counterparts of Drosophila FPPP and Aedes FolD genes, however, showed quite low level of expression. On the other hand, some other genes probably encoding oxidoreductases were expressed highly and selectively in CC-CA complex. Their products might function as FolD and/or FalD in Bombyx.
2014-12-31 | GSE41805 | GEO
Project description:Developmental transitions involve changes in the genetic programs governing molecular processes. Characterizing these genetic programs gives us insight into how genes work to orchestrate developmental transitions in morphology, physiology, or even behavior. One fascinating developmental transition, metamorphosis, bridges larval and juvenile periods. Southern Flounder, a flatfish, is an ideal model system to investigate these developmental states due to dramatic phenotypic changes during metamorphosis. Here, we use transcriptomics to investigate how genetic programs orchestrate larval development, metamorphosis, and juvenile development in Southern Flounder. Our analysis of Southern Flounder transcriptomes comprehensively describes distinct larval and juvenile genetic programs that overlap during metamorphosis. We also describe a third genetic program that peaks during metamorphosis. These results provide insight into molecular orchestration of flatfish and teleost metamorphosis and more generally into how the timing of genetic programs orchestrates metamorphosis. We also propose that these program trajectories can be used to pinpoint timing of metamorphosis in animals with less phenotypically distinct larval and juvenile forms.
2025-11-14 | GSE307589 | GEO
Project description:Socially exchanged fluids, such as seminal fluid and milk, are a direct means through which an organism can influence conspecifics. When orally feeding larval offspring via trophallaxis, workers of the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus were recently shown to transfer Juvenile Hormone III (JH), a key developmental regulator, as well as paralogs of JH esterase (JHE), an enzyme that catalyzes degradation of JH. Here we combine proteomic, phylogenetic and selection analyses to investigate the evolution of this esterase subfamily. We show that members of the Camponotus JHE-like protein family have undergone multiple duplications, experienced positive selection, and changed tissue localization to become abundantly and selectively present in trophallactic fluid. The Camponotus trophallactic esterases have maintained their catalytic triads but contain a number of positively-selected amino acid changes distributed throughout the protein, which possibly reflect an adaptation to the highly acidic trophallactic fluid of formicine ants. To determine whether these esterases might regulate larval development, we fed workers with a JHE-specific pharmacological inhibitor to introduce it into the trophallactic network. This inhibitor increased the likelihood of pupation of the larvae reared by these workers, similar and complementary to supplementation with JH. Together, these findings suggest that JHE-like proteins have evolved new roles in the Camponotus genus in inter-individual regulation of larval development.
2018-12-14 | PXD009982 | Pride
Project description:Development, physiology, and reproduction require the precise control of hormones. Hormone bioavailability is regulated by their synthesis and transport, as well as sequestration, natural turnover, and active degradation. For most hormones, we know far less about active hormone degradation than their synthesis. Here, we use Drosophila melanogaster to investigate the enzymes that degrade the retinoic acid-like Juvenile hormones (JH). While JH titers must decrease to ensure metamorphosis, the developmental requirements of both classes of JH degradation enzymes, JH esterases (JHEs), and JH epoxide hydrolases (JHEHs), have not been determined due to genetic redundancies. To overcome this knowledge gap, we generated double knockout animals lacking both JHEs as well as triple knockout animals lacking all three JHEHs. We found that while neither class of JH degradation enzymes are required for viability, they have unexpectedly distinct requirements in developmental pacing and growth. Animals lacking JHEs pupariate at the expected time but are larger, indicating that JHEs restrain developmental growth but not pacing. In contrast, animals lacking JHEHs are a normal size but are severely delayed in their development, indicating that JHEHs regulate developmental pacing but not growth. To investigate this unexpected separation of requirements among JH degradation enzymes, we analyzed JH-producing glands, performed rescue experiments, and characterized transcriptional changes by bulk RNA-sequencing. Together, our data revealed striking differences in the developmental requirements for JHE and JHEH, yet shared requirements for regulating ecdysone-related genes. By generating these genetic tools, such hypotheses can be explored to shed light on active hormone degradation in development and beyond.
2026-01-08 | GSE286242 | GEO
Project description:Samples 1-24: Tissue-specific gene expression microarrays (Nimblegen) using dissected ring glands isolated from FOUR different time points of control (w1118, otherwise wild type) third instar larvae. Time points are 4, 8, 24 and 36 hours after the molt from second to third instar larvae. Samples 25-42: Tissue-specific gene expression microarrays (Nimblegen) using dissected ring glands isolated from TWO different time points of third instar larvae. Genotypes were phantom22-GAL4/RasV12 and phantom22/Torso-RNAi. Goal was to identify PTTH-dependent gene sets in the ring gland. Time points were 18 hours and 8 hours prior to puparium formation.
2016-06-20 | GSE80475 | GEO
Project description:Samples 1-8: Tissue-specific RNA sequencing (Illumina) using dissected ring glands isolated from TWO different time points of control (phm>w1118) third instar larvae. Time points are: light phase zt0-4 (which corresponde to 2-4 hours from second to third instar larvae molt); and dark phase zt18-22 (which corresponde to 16-20 hours from second to third instar larvae molt) Samples 9-32: Tissue-specific gene expression (RNA seq Illumina) using dissected ring glands isolated from TWO different time points of third instar larvae. Genotypes were Timeless-RNAi (phm>tim-RNAi), Period-RNAi (phm>per-RNAi), UAS-TimcDNA (phm>UAS-Tim) and UAS-TimcDNA;UAS-PercDNA (phm>UAS-TimcDNA;UAS-PercDNA). Goal was to identify circadin pathway dependent gene sets in the ring gland. Time points were 2-4 hours and 18-20 hours after L2-L3 molt.
2017-07-07 | GSE83914 | GEO
Project description:In honeybees, differential feeding of female larvae promotes the occurrence of two different phenotypes, a queen and a worker, from identical genotypes. Nutritional factors affect both endocrine responses and gene expression and, thus, change the larval developmental pattern. It is widely accepted that two types of alterations occur during this process: incremental alterations, which affect general growth, and character state alterations that result in the presence or absence of specific structures. Previous studies revealed a link between incremental alterations and differential expression of physiometabolic genes. Here, we report evidence for molecular changes that affect character states, controlling the expression of worker-like characteristics. By using cDNA microarray analyses of more than 6,000 Apis mellifera ESTs we found 240 differentially expressed genes (DEG) between developing queens and workers. Comparative analyses showed that many genes recorded as up-regulated in prospective workers appear to be unique to A. mellifera suggesting that the workers developmental pathway involves the participation of novel genes. We also show that workers up-regulate more developmental genes than queens, whereas queens up-regulate a greater predominance of physiometabolic genes. The latter include genes coding for metabolic enzymes and genes whose products are known to regulate the rate of mass-transforming processes and the general growth of the organism (e.g., tor). Many DEG are likely to be involved in processes favoring the development of caste-specific structures, like brain, legs and ovaries, as well as genes that code for cytoskeleton constituents. Treatment of developing worker larvae with juvenile hormone (JH) revealed 52 JH responsive genes, specifically during the critical period of castes development. Using Gibbs sampling and Expectation Maximization algorithms, we discovered eight overrepresented cis-elements from 4 gene groups. Graph theory and complex networks concepts were adopted to attain powerful graphical representations of the interrelation between cis-elements and genes and objectively quantify the degree of relationship between these entities. We suggest that clusters of functionally related DEGs are co-regulated during caste development in honeybees. This network of interactions is activated by nutrition-driven stimuli in early larval stages. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that JH is a key component of the developmental determination of queen-like characters. We propose a conceptual model of caste differentiation in A. mellifera based on gene-regulatory networks. Keywords: caste differentiation during larval development; JH effect
2007-05-31 | GSE6452 | GEO
Project description:Plasmodium falciparum cellline experiment: CD36 panned clones (Ring) were hybridized against S8.4 (Ring)
2007-04-25 | E-MEXP-439 | biostudies-arrayexpress