Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.

miR-124 is conserved in sequence and neuronal expression across the animal kingdom and is predicted to have hundreds of mRNA targets. Diverse defects in neural development and function were reported from miR-124 antisense studies in vertebrates, but a nematode knockout of mir-124 surprisingly lacked...

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Main Authors: Kailiang Sun, Jakub Orzechowski Westholm, Kazuya Tsurudome, Joshua W Hagen, Yubing Lu, Minoree Kohwi, Doron Betel, Fen-Biao Gao, A Pejmun Haghighi, Chris Q Doe, Eric C Lai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-02-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3276548?pdf=render
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author Kailiang Sun
Jakub Orzechowski Westholm
Kazuya Tsurudome
Joshua W Hagen
Yubing Lu
Minoree Kohwi
Doron Betel
Fen-Biao Gao
A Pejmun Haghighi
Chris Q Doe
Eric C Lai
author_facet Kailiang Sun
Jakub Orzechowski Westholm
Kazuya Tsurudome
Joshua W Hagen
Yubing Lu
Minoree Kohwi
Doron Betel
Fen-Biao Gao
A Pejmun Haghighi
Chris Q Doe
Eric C Lai
author_sort Kailiang Sun
collection DOAJ
description miR-124 is conserved in sequence and neuronal expression across the animal kingdom and is predicted to have hundreds of mRNA targets. Diverse defects in neural development and function were reported from miR-124 antisense studies in vertebrates, but a nematode knockout of mir-124 surprisingly lacked detectable phenotypes. To provide genetic insight from Drosophila, we deleted its single mir-124 locus and found that it is dispensable for gross aspects of neural specification and differentiation. On the other hand, we detected a variety of mutant phenotypes that were rescuable by a mir-124 genomic transgene, including short lifespan, increased dendrite variation, impaired larval locomotion, and aberrant synaptic release at the NMJ. These phenotypes reflect extensive requirements of miR-124 even under optimal culture conditions. Comparison of the transcriptomes of cells from wild-type and mir-124 mutant animals, purified on the basis of mir-124 promoter activity, revealed broad upregulation of direct miR-124 targets. However, in contrast to the proposed mutual exclusion model for miR-124 function, its functional targets were relatively highly expressed in miR-124-expressing cells and were not enriched in genes annotated with epidermal expression. A notable aspect of the direct miR-124 network was coordinate targeting of five positive components in the retrograde BMP signaling pathway, whose activation in neurons increases synaptic release at the NMJ, similar to mir-124 mutants. Derepression of the direct miR-124 target network also had many secondary effects, including over-activity of other post-transcriptional repressors and a net incomplete transition from a neuroblast to a neuronal gene expression signature. Altogether, these studies demonstrate complex consequences of miR-124 loss on neural gene expression and neurophysiology.
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spelling doaj.art-2dc79ea36ad24fe7bab34e6b25d87eba2022-12-22T02:27:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Genetics1553-73901553-74042012-02-0182e100251510.1371/journal.pgen.1002515Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.Kailiang SunJakub Orzechowski WestholmKazuya TsurudomeJoshua W HagenYubing LuMinoree KohwiDoron BetelFen-Biao GaoA Pejmun HaghighiChris Q DoeEric C LaimiR-124 is conserved in sequence and neuronal expression across the animal kingdom and is predicted to have hundreds of mRNA targets. Diverse defects in neural development and function were reported from miR-124 antisense studies in vertebrates, but a nematode knockout of mir-124 surprisingly lacked detectable phenotypes. To provide genetic insight from Drosophila, we deleted its single mir-124 locus and found that it is dispensable for gross aspects of neural specification and differentiation. On the other hand, we detected a variety of mutant phenotypes that were rescuable by a mir-124 genomic transgene, including short lifespan, increased dendrite variation, impaired larval locomotion, and aberrant synaptic release at the NMJ. These phenotypes reflect extensive requirements of miR-124 even under optimal culture conditions. Comparison of the transcriptomes of cells from wild-type and mir-124 mutant animals, purified on the basis of mir-124 promoter activity, revealed broad upregulation of direct miR-124 targets. However, in contrast to the proposed mutual exclusion model for miR-124 function, its functional targets were relatively highly expressed in miR-124-expressing cells and were not enriched in genes annotated with epidermal expression. A notable aspect of the direct miR-124 network was coordinate targeting of five positive components in the retrograde BMP signaling pathway, whose activation in neurons increases synaptic release at the NMJ, similar to mir-124 mutants. Derepression of the direct miR-124 target network also had many secondary effects, including over-activity of other post-transcriptional repressors and a net incomplete transition from a neuroblast to a neuronal gene expression signature. Altogether, these studies demonstrate complex consequences of miR-124 loss on neural gene expression and neurophysiology.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3276548?pdf=render
spellingShingle Kailiang Sun
Jakub Orzechowski Westholm
Kazuya Tsurudome
Joshua W Hagen
Yubing Lu
Minoree Kohwi
Doron Betel
Fen-Biao Gao
A Pejmun Haghighi
Chris Q Doe
Eric C Lai
Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
PLoS Genetics
title Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
title_full Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
title_fullStr Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
title_full_unstemmed Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
title_short Neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in Drosophila mir-124 mutants.
title_sort neurophysiological defects and neuronal gene deregulation in drosophila mir 124 mutants
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3276548?pdf=render
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