A single microRNA system controls complex movement in morphologically distinct forms of Drosophila

Movement is the main output of the nervous system. It emerges during development to become a highly coordinated physiological process essential to the survival and adaptation of the organism to the environment. Similar movements can be observed in morphologically-distinct developmental stages of an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Issa, Raouf, Picao-Osorio, Joao, Rito, Nuno, Chiappe, Maria Eugenia, Alonso, Claudio R
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 14.01.2019
Subjects
Developmental stages
Drosophila
Gene expression
HOX gene
Insects
Larvae
MicroRNAs
miRNA
Motor neurons
Nervous system
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Summary:Movement is the main output of the nervous system. It emerges during development to become a highly coordinated physiological process essential to the survival and adaptation of the organism to the environment. Similar movements can be observed in morphologically-distinct developmental stages of an organism, but it is currently unclear whether these movements have a common or diverse molecular basis. Here we explore this problem in Drosophila focusing on the roles played by the microRNA (miRNA) locus miR-iab4/8 which was previously shown to be essential for the fruit fly larva to correct its orientation if turned upside down (self-righting) (Picao-Osorio et al., 2015). Our study shows that miR-iab4 is required for normal self-righting across all three Drosophila larval stages. Unexpectedly, we also discover that this miRNA is essential for normal self-righting behaviour in the Drosophila adult, an organism with radically different morphological and neural constitution. Through the combination of gene-expression, optical imaging and quantitative behavioural approaches we provide evidence that miR-iab4 exerts its effects on adult self-righting behaviour through repression of the Hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) (Morgan, 1923; Sanchez-Herrero et al., 1985) in a specific set of motor neurons that innervate the adult Drosophila leg. Our results show that this miRNA-Hox module affects the function, rather than the morphology of motor neurons and indicate that post-developmental changes in Hox gene expression can modulate behavioural outputs in the adult. Altogether our work reveals that a common miRNA-Hox genetic module can control complex movement in morphologically-distinct organisms and describes a novel post-developmental role of the Hox genes in adult neural function.
DOI:10.1101/511881