The steroid hormone-regulated geneBroad Complex is required for dendritic growth of motoneurons during metamorphosis ofDrosophila

Multiple miRNAs jointly regulate the biosynthesis of ecdysteroid in the holometabolous insects, Chilo suppressalis

The accurate rise and fall of active hormones is important for insect development. The ecdysteroids must be cleared in a timely manner. However, the mechanism of suppressing the ecdysteroid biosynthesis at the right time remains unclear. Here, we sequenced a small RNA library of Chilo suppressalis and identified 300 miRNAs in this notorious rice insect pest. Microarray analysis yielded 54 differentially expressed miRNAs during metamorphosis development. Target prediction and in vitro dual-luciferase assays confirmed that seven miRNAs (two conserved and five novel miRNAs) jointly targeted three Halloween genes in the ecdysteroid biosynthesis pathway. Overexpression of these seven miRNAs reduced the titer of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), induced mortality, and retarded development, which could be rescued by treatment with 20E. Comparative analysis indicated that the miRNA regulation of metamorphosis development is a conserved process but that the miRNAs involved are highly divergent. In all, we present evidence that both conserved and lineage-specific miRNAs have crucial roles in regulating development in insects by controlling ecdysteroid biosynthesis, which is important for ensuring developmental convergence and evolutionary diversity.

The large and small SPEN family proteins stimulate axon outgrowth during neurosecretory cell remodeling in Drosophila

Split ends (SPEN) is the founding member of a well conserved family of nuclear proteins with critical functions in transcriptional regulation and the post-transcriptional processing and nuclear export of transcripts. In animals, the SPEN proteins fall into two size classes that perform either complementary or antagonistic functions in different cellular contexts. Here, we show that the two Drosophila representatives of this family, SPEN and Spenito (NITO), regulate metamorphic remodeling of the CCAP/bursicon neurosecretory cells. CCAP/bursicon cell-targeted overexpression of SPEN had no effect on the larval morphology or the pruning back of the CCAP/bursicon cell axons at the onset of metamorphosis. During the subsequent outgrowth phase of metamorphic remodeling, overexpression of either SPEN or NITO strongly inhibited axon extension, axon branching, peripheral neuropeptide accumulation, and soma growth. Cell-targeted loss-of-function alleles for both spen and nito caused similar reductions in axon outgrowth, indicating that the absolute levels of SPEN and NITO activity are critical to support the developmental plasticity of these neurons. Although nito RNAi did not affect SPEN protein levels, the phenotypes produced by SPEN overexpression were suppressed by nito RNAi. We propose that SPEN and NITO function additively or synergistically in the CCAP/bursicon neurons to regulate multiple aspects of neurite outgrowth during metamorphic remodeling.

Combgap Promotes Ovarian Niche Development and Chromatin Association of EcR-Binding Regions in BR-C

The development of niches for tissue-specific stem cells is an important aspect of stem cell biology. Determination of niche size and niche numbers during organogenesis involves precise control of gene expression. How this is achieved in the context of a complex chromatin landscape is largely unknown. Here we show that the nuclear protein Combgap (Cg) supports correct ovarian niche formation in Drosophila by controlling ecdysone-Receptor (EcR)- mediated transcription and long-range chromatin contacts in the broad locus (BR-C). Both cg and BR-C promote ovarian growth and the development of niches for germ line stem cells. BR-C levels were lower when Combgap was either reduced or over-expressed, indicating an intricate regulation of the BR-C locus by Combgap. Polytene chromosome stains showed that Cg co-localizes with EcR, the major regulator of BR-C, at the BR-C locus and that EcR binding to chromatin was sensitive to changes in Cg levels. Proximity ligation assay indicated that the two proteins could reside in the same complex. Finally, chromatin conformation analysis revealed that EcR-bound regions within BR-C, which span ~30 KBs, contacted each other. Significantly, these contacts were stabilized in an ecdysone- and Combgap-dependent manner. Together, these results highlight Combgap as a novel regulator of chromatin structure that promotes transcription of ecdysone target genes and ovarian niche formation.

Germ line stem cells (GSCs) supply either eggs or sperm throughout the life- time of many organisms, including mammals. For their function, GSCs require input from somatic niche cells. Understanding how niches form during development is an important initial step in understanding how stem cell units form, and by extension, how they may regenerate. In this work we describe a new function for the chromatin binding protein Combgap in ovarian niche formation of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Combgap is required for the correct expression of another factor, BR-C, in somatic ovarian cells. BR-C is one of the central target genes of the steroid hormone ecdysone, and its expression is controlled by the ecdysone receptor (EcR). Interestingly, EcR-enriched regions within the BR-C locus are engaged in long-range contacts that are stabilized by ecdysone in a Combgap-depended manner. We also found that EcR binding to chromatin depends on WT levels of Combgap. BR-C regulates GSC unit establishment, intestinal stem cells, immune responses, and many other processes. Understanding Combgaps’ function in shaping the BR-C chromatin landscape is a first step towards better appreciation of how this important locus is controlled, and the general machinery coupling gene expression to 3D chromatin structure.

Serotonergic neurons of the Drosophila air-puff-stimulated flight circuit

Monoaminergic modulation of insect flight is well documented. Recently, we demonstrated that synaptic activity is required in serotonergic neurons for Drosophila flight. This requirement is during early pupal development, when the flight circuit is formed, as well as in adults. Using a Ca2+-activity-based GFP reporter, here we show that serotonergic neurons in both prothoracic and mesothoracic segments are activated upon air-puff-stimulated flight. Moreover ectopic activation of the entire serotonergic system by TrpA1, a heat activated cation channel, induces flight, even in the absence of an air-puff stimulus.

Synaptic activity in serotonergic neurons is required for air-puff stimulated flight in Drosophila melanogaster

Background

Flight is an integral component of many complex behavioral patterns in insects. The giant fiber circuit has been well studied in several insects including Drosophila. However, components of the insect flight circuit that respond to an air-puff stimulus and comprise the flight central pattern generator are poorly defined. Aminergic neurons have been implicated in locust, moth and Drosophila flight. Here we have investigated the requirement of neuronal activity in serotonergic neurons, during development and in adults, on air-puff induced flight in Drosophila.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To target serotonergic neurons specifically, a Drosophila strain that contains regulatory regions from the TRH (Tryptophan Hydroxylase) gene linked to the yeast transcription factor GAL4 was used. By blocking synaptic transmission from serotonergic neurons with a tetanus toxin transgene or by hyperpolarisation with Kir2.1, close to 50% adults became flightless. Temporal expression of a temperature sensitive Dynamin mutant transgene (Shi^ts) suggests that synaptic function in serotonergic neurons is required both during development and in adults. Depletion of IP₃R in serotonergic neurons via RNAi did not affect flight. Interestingly, at all stages a partial requirement for synaptic activity in serotonergic neurons was observed. The status of serotonergic neurons was investigated in the central nervous system of larvae and adults expressing tetanus toxin. A small but significant reduction was observed in serotonergic cell number in adult second thoracic segments from flightless tetanus toxin expressing animals.

Conclusions

These studies show that loss of synaptic activity in serotonergic neurons causes a flight deficit. The temporal focus of the flight deficit is during pupal development and in adults. The cause of the flight deficit is likely to be loss of neurons and reduced synaptic function. Based on the partial phenotypes, serotonergic neurons appear to be modulatory, rather than an intrinsic part of the flight circuit.

Intracellular signaling in neurons: unraveling specificity, compensatory mechanisms and essential gene function

Understanding how unique signaling outputs are generated in neurons using a limited set of intracellular signaling mechanisms has been a challenge. A combination of genetics and cell imaging, with tools developed to measure signaling outputs, has shown that the restricted presence of a signaling attenuator visibly alters the axonal range of the output and can be correlated with different behavioral outputs. Another question of interest is regarding the extent of genetic plasticity possible in the context of a single behavioral change. Recent molecular and genetic studies support the presence of parallel pathways that can compensate for the primary defect both at the level of physiology and behavior.

Identification of 20-hydroxyecdysone-inducible genes from larval brain of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, and their expression analysis

The insect brain secretes prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), which stimulates the prothoracic gland to synthesize ecdysone. The active metabolite of ecdysone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), works through ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP) to initiate molting and metamorphosis by regulating downstream genes. Previously, we found that EcR was expressed in the PTTH-producing neurosecretory cells (PTPCs) in larval brain of the silkworm Bombyx mori, suggesting that PTPCs function as the master cells of development under the regulation of 20E. To gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of the 20E control of PTPCs, we performed a comprehensive screening of genes induced by 20E using DNA microarray with brains of day-2 fifth instar silkworm larvae. Forty-one genes showed greater than twofold changes caused by artificial application of 20E. A subsequent semiquantitative screening identified ten genes upregulated by 20E, four of which were novel or not previously identified as 20E-response genes. Developmental profiling determined that two genes, UP4 and UP5, were correlated with the endogenous ecdysteroid titer. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed exclusive expression of these two genes in two pairs of cells in the larval brain in response to 20E-induction, suggesting that the cells are PTPCs. BLAST searches revealed that UP4 and UP5 are Bombyx homologs of vrille and tarsal-less, respectively. The present study identifies 20E-induced genes that may be involved in the ecdysone signal hierarchies underlying pupal-adult development and/or the 20E regulation of PTPCs.

The BTB/POZ zinc finger protein Broad-Z3 promotes dendritic outgrowth during metamorphic remodeling of the peripheral stretch receptor dbd

Background

Various members of the family of BTB/POZ zinc-finger transcription factors influence patterns of dendritic branching. One such member, Broad, is notable because its BrZ3 isoform is widely expressed in Drosophila in immature neurons around the time of arbor outgrowth. We used the metamorphic remodeling of an identified sensory neuron, the dorsal bipolar dendrite sensory neuron (dbd), to examine the effects of BrZ3 expression on the extent and pattern of dendrite growth during metamorphosis.

Results

Using live imaging of dbd in Drosophila pupae, we followed its normal development during metamorphosis and the effect of ectopic expression of BrZ3 on this development. After migration of its cell body, dbd extends a growth-cone that grows between two muscle bands followed by branching and turning back on itself to form a compact dendritic bundle. The ectopic expression of the BrZ3 isoform, using the GAL4/UAS system, caused dbd's dendritic tree to transform from its normal, compact, fasciculated form into a comb-like arbor that spread over on the body wall. Time-lapse analysis revealed that the expression of BrZ3 caused the premature extension of the primary dendrite onto immature myoblasts, ectopic growth past the muscle target region, and subsequent elaboration onto the epidermis. To control the timing of expression of BrZ3, we used a temperature-sensitive GAL80 mutant. When BrZ3 expression was delayed until after the extension of the primary dendrite, then a normal arbor was formed. By contrast, when BrZ3 expression was confined to only the early outgrowth phase, then ectopic arbors were subsequently formed and maintained on the epidermis despite the subsequent absence of BrZ3.

Conclusions

The adult arbor of dbd is a highly branched arbor whose branches self-fasciculate to form a compact dendritic bundle. The ectopic expression of BrZ3 in this cell causes a premature extension of its growth-cone, resulting in dendrites that extend beyond their normal muscle substrate and onto the epidermis, where they form a comb-shaped, ectopic arbor. Our quantitative data suggest that new ectopic arbor represents an 'unpacking' of the normally fasciculated arbor onto the epidermis. These data suggest that the nature of their local environment can change dendrite behavior from self-adhesion to self-avoidance.

Steroid-triggered, cell-autonomous death of a Drosophila motoneuron during metamorphosis

BACKGROUND

The metamorphosis of Drosophila melanogaster is accompanied by elimination of obsolete neurons via programmed cell death (PCD). Metamorphosis is regulated by ecdysteroids, including 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), but the roles and modes of action of hormones in regulating neuronal PCD are incompletely understood.

RESULTS

We used targeted expression of GFP to track the fate of a larval motoneuron, RP2, in ventral ganglia. RP2s in abdominal neuromeres two through seven (A2 to A7) exhibited fragmented DNA by 15 hours after puparium formation (h-APF) and were missing by 20 h-APF. RP2 death began shortly after the 'prepupal pulse' of ecdysteroids, during which time RP2s expressed ecdysteroid receptors (EcRs). Genetic manipulations showed that RP2 death required the function of EcR-B isoforms, the death-activating gene, reaper (but not hid), and the apoptosome component, Dark. PCD was blocked by expression of the caspase inhibitor p35 but unaffected by manipulating Diap1. In contrast, aCC motoneurons in neuromeres A2 to A7, and RP2s in neuromere A1, expressed EcRs during the prepupal pulse but survived into the pupal stage under all conditions tested. To test the hypothesis that ecdysteroids trigger RP2's death directly, we placed abdominal GFP-expressing neurons in cell culture immediately prior to the prepupal pulse, with or without 20E. 20E induced significant PCD in putative RP2s, but not in control neurons, as assessed by morphological criteria and propidium iodide staining.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the rise of ecdysteroids during the prepupal pulse acts directly, via EcR-B isoforms, to activate PCD in RP2 motoneurons in abdominal neuromeres A2 to A7, while sparing RP2s in A1. Genetic manipulations suggest that RP2's death requires Reaper function, apoptosome assembly and Diap1-independent caspase activation. RP2s offer a valuable 'single cell' approach to the molecular understanding of neuronal death during insect metamorphosis and, potentially, of neurodegeneration in other contexts.

Neurite elongation from Drosophila neural BG2-c6 cells stimulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone

Neurite elongation is a critical process in the formation of nerve systems from neural cells. During metamorphosis, the holometabolous insect Drosophila melanogaster reorganizes its central nervous system (CNS) under the influence of the steroid molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). A neural cell line that responds to 20E treatment is therefore desired in order to analyze its signal transduction process. Here, we show that cells of the Drosophila neural cell line BG2-c6 extended long projections of over 30 microm in length after being stimulated with 20E. Most of these projections contained both actin filaments and microtubules. Since microtubules are structural markers of neurites, the projections were considered to be neurites. Live imaging of cells expressing GFP tagged alpha-tubulin showed that the neurites did not have a lamellipodial structure at their tips. Under an electron microscope, microtubules were found to run alongside the actin filaments in the neurite shaft but did not reach the tip, where the actin filaments were loosely bundled rather than being arranged into a meshwork as in lamellipodia. These results indicate that BG2-c6 cells project neurites without the typical growth-corn structure at their tips after 20E stimulation.

Brain plasticity in Diptera and Hymenoptera

To mediate different types of behaviour, nervous systems need to coordinate the proper operation of their neural circuits as well as short- and long-term alterations that occur within those circuits. The latter ultimately devolve upon specific changes in neuronal structures, membrane properties and synaptic connections that are all examples of plasticity. This reorganization of the adult nervous system is shaped by internal and external influences both during development and adult maturation. In adults, behavioural experience is a major driving force of neuronal plasticity studied particularly in sensory systems. The range of adaptation depends on features that are important to a particular species, and is therefore specific, so that learning is essential for foraging in honeybees, while regenerative capacities are important in hemimetabolous insects with long appendages. Experience is usually effective during a critical period in early adult life, when neural function becomes tuned to future conditions in an insect's life. Tuning occur at all levels, in synaptic circuits, neuropile volumes, and behaviour. There are many examples, and this review incorporates only a select few, mainly those from Diptera and Hymenoptera.

Broad Complex isoforms have unique distributions during central nervous system metamorphosis in Drosophila melanogaster

Broad Complex (BRC) is a highly conserved, ecdysone-pathway gene essential for metamorphosis in Drosophila melanogaster, and possibly all holometabolous insects. Alternative splicing among duplicated exons produces several BRC isoforms, each with one zinc-finger DNA-binding domain (Z1, Z2, Z3, or Z4), highly expressed at the onset of metamorphosis. BRC-Z1, BRC-Z2, and BRC-Z3 represent distinct genetic functions (BRC complementation groups rbp, br, and 2Bc, respectively) and are required at discrete stages spanning final-instar larva through very young pupa. We showed previously that morphogenetic movements necessary for adult CNS maturation require BRC-Z1, -Z2, and -Z3, but not at the same time: BRC-Z1 is required in the mid-prepupa, BRC-Z2 and -Z3 are required earlier, at the larval-prepupal transition. To explore how BRC isoforms controlling the same morphogenesis events do so at different times, we examined their central nervous system (CNS) expression patterns during the approximately 16 hours bracketing the hormone-regulated start of metamorphosis. Each isoform had a unique pattern, with BRC-Z3 being the most distinctive. There was some colocalization of isoform pairs, but no three-way overlap of BRC-Z1, -Z2, and -Z3. Instead, their most prominent expression was in glia (BRC-Z1), neuroblasts (BRC-Z2), or neurons (BRC-Z3). Despite sequence similarity to BRC-Z1, BRC-Z4 was expressed in a unique subset of neurons. These data suggest a switch in BRC isoform choice, from BRC-Z2 in proliferating cells to BRC-Z1, BRC-Z3, or BRC-Z4 in differentiating cells. Together with isoform-selective temporal requirements and phenotype considerations, this cell-type-selective expression suggests a model of BRC-dependent CNS morphogenesis resulting from intercellular interactions, culminating in BRC-Z1-controlled, glia-mediated CNS movements in late prepupa.

Temporal patterns of broad isoform expression during the development of neuronal lineages in Drosophila

Background

During the development of the central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila, neuronal stem cells, the neuroblasts (NBs), first generate a set of highly diverse neurons, the primary neurons that mature to control larval behavior, and then more homogeneous sets of neurons that show delayed maturation and are primarily used in the adult. These latter, 'secondary' neurons show a complex pattern of expression of broad, which encodes a transcription factor usually associated with metamorphosis, where it acts as a key regulator in the transitions from larva and pupa.

Results

The Broad-Z3 (Br-Z3) isoform appears transiently in most central neurons during embryogenesis, but persists in a subset of these cells through most of larval growth. Some of the latter are embryonic-born secondary neurons, whose development is arrested until the start of metamorphosis. However, the vast bulk of the secondary neurons are generated during larval growth and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation shows that they begin expressing Br-Z3 about 7 hours after their birth, approximately the time that they have finished outgrowth to their initial targets. By the start of metamorphosis, the oldest secondary neurons have turned off Br-Z3 expression, while the remainder, with the exception of the very youngest, maintain Br-Z3 while they are interacting with potential partners in preparation for neurite elaboration. That Br-Z3 may be involved in early sprouting is suggested by ectopically expressing this isoform in remodeling primary neurons, which do not normally express Br-Z3. These cells now sprout into ectopic locations. The expression of Br-Z3 is transient and seen in all interneurons, but two other isoforms, Br-Z4 and Br-Z1, show a more selective expression. Analysis of MARCM clones shows that the Br-Z4 isoform is expressed by neurons in virtually all lineages, but only in those cells born during a window during the transition from the second to the third larval instar. Br-Z4 expression is then maintained in this temporal cohort of cells into the adult.

Conclusion

These data show the potential for diverse functions of Broad within the developing CNS. The Br-Z3 isoform appears in all interneurons, but not motoneurons, when they first begin to interact with potential targets. Its function during this early sorting phase needs to be defined. Two other Broad isoforms, by contrast, are stably expressed in cohorts of neurons in all lineages and are the first examples of persisting molecular 'time-stamps' for Drosophila postembryonic neurons.

From form to function: the ways to know a neuron

The shape of a neuron, its morphological signature, dictates the neuron's function by establishing its synaptic partnerships. Here, we review various anatomical methods used to reveal neuron shape and the contributions these have made to our current understanding of neural function in the Drosophila brain, especially the optic lobe. These methods, including Golgi impregnation, genetic reporters, and electron microscopy (EM), necessarily incorporate biases of various sorts that are easy to overlook, but that filter the morphological signatures we see. Nonetheless, the application of these methods to the optic lobe has led to reassuringly congruent findings on the number and shapes of neurons and their connection patterns, indicating that morphological classes are actually genetic classes. Genetic methods using, especially, GAL4 drivers and associated reporters have largely superceded classical Golgi methods for cellular analyses and, moreover, allow the manipulation of neuronal activity, thus enabling us to establish a bridge between morphological studies and functional ones. While serial-EM reconstruction remains the only reliable, albeit labor-intensive, method to determine actual synaptic connections, genetic approaches in combination with EM or high-resolution light microscopic techniques are promising methods for the rapid determination of synaptic circuit function.

Sensory systems: seeing the world in a new light

Most terminally differentiated sensory neurons express a single sensory receptor molecule. A Drosophila photoreceptor organ breaks this rule by switching to expressing a different type of Rhodopsin as it metamorphoses from larva to adult.

Dendrite elongation and dendritic branching are affected separately by different forms of intrinsic motoneuron excitability

Dendrites are the fundamental determinant of neuronal wiring. Consequently dendritic defects are associated with numerous neurological diseases and mental retardation. Neuronal activity can have profound effects on dendritic structure, but the mechanisms controlling distinct aspects of dendritic architecture are not fully understood. We use the Drosophila genetic model system to test the effects of altered intrinsic excitability on postembryonic dendritic architecture development. Targeted dominant negative knock-downs of potassium channel subunits allow for selectively increasing the intrinsic excitability of a selected subset of motoneurons, whereas targeted expression of a genetically modified noninactivating potassium channel decrease intrinsic excitability in vivo. Both manipulations cause significant dendritic overgrowth, but by different mechanisms. Increased excitability causes increased dendritic branch formation, whereas decreased excitability causes increased dendritic branch elongation. Therefore dendritic branching and branch elongation are controlled by separate mechanisms that can be addressed selectively in vivo by different manipulations of neuronal intrinsic excitability.

Identification of genes influencing dendrite morphogenesis in developing peripheral sensory and central motor neurons

Background

Developing neurons form dendritic trees with cell type-specific patterns of growth, branching and targeting. Dendrites of Drosophila peripheral sensory neurons have emerged as a premier genetic model, though the molecular mechanisms that underlie and regulate their morphogenesis remain incompletely understood. Still less is known about this process in central neurons and the extent to which central and peripheral dendrites share common organisational principles and molecular features. To address these issues, we have carried out two comparable gain-of-function screens for genes that influence dendrite morphologies in peripheral dendritic arborisation (da) neurons and central RP2 motor neurons.

Results

We found 35 unique loci that influenced da neuron dendrites, including five previously shown as required for da dendrite patterning. Several phenotypes were class-specific and many resembled those of known mutants, suggesting that genes identified in this study may converge with and extend known molecular pathways for dendrite development in da neurons. The second screen used a novel technique for cell-autonomous gene misexpression in RP2 motor neurons. We found 51 unique loci affecting RP2 dendrite morphology, 84% expressed in the central nervous system. The phenotypic classes from both screens demonstrate that gene misexpression can affect specific aspects of dendritic development, such as growth, branching and targeting. We demonstrate that these processes are genetically separable. Targeting phenotypes were specific to the RP2 screen, and we propose that dendrites in the central nervous system are targeted to territories defined by Cartesian co-ordinates along the antero-posterior and the medio-lateral axes of the central neuropile. Comparisons between the screens suggest that the dendrites of peripheral da and central RP2 neurons are shaped by regulatory programs that only partially overlap. We focused on one common candidate pathway controlled by the ecdysone receptor, and found that it promotes branching and growth of developing da neuron dendrites, but a role in RP2 dendrite development during embryonic and early larval stages was not apparent.

Conclusion

We identified commonalities (for example, growth and branching) and distinctions (for example, targeting and ecdysone response) in the molecular and organizational framework that underlies dendrite development of peripheral and central neurons.

Anciently duplicated Broad Complex exons have distinct temporal functions during tissue morphogenesis

Broad Complex (BRC) is an essential ecdysone-pathway gene required for entry into and progression through metamorphosis in Drosophila melanogaster. Mutations of three BRC complementation groups cause numerous phenotypes, including a common suite of morphogenesis defects involving central nervous system (CNS), adult salivary glands (aSG), and male genitalia. These defects are phenocopied by the juvenile hormone mimic methoprene. Four BRC isoforms are produced by alternative splicing of a protein-binding BTB/POZ-encoding exon (BTBBRC) to one of four tandemly duplicated, DNA-binding zinc-finger-encoding exons (Z1BRC, Z2BRC, Z3BRC, Z4BRC). Highly conserved orthologs of BTBBRC and all four ZBRC were found among published cDNA sequences or genome databases from Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera, indicating that BRC arose and underwent internal exon duplication before the split of holometabolous orders. Tramtrack subfamily members, abrupt, tramtrack, fruitless, longitudinals lacking (lola), and CG31666 were characterized throughout Holometabola and used to root phylogenetic analyses of ZBRC exons, which revealed that the ZBRC clade includes Zabrupt. All four ZBRC domains, including Z4BRC, which has no known essential function, are evolving in a manner consistent with selective constraint. We used transgenic rescue to explore how different BRC isoforms contribute to shared tissue-morphogenesis functions. As predicted from earlier studies, the common CNS and aSG phenotypes were rescued by BRC-Z1 in rbp mutants, BRC-Z2 in br mutants, and BRC-Z3 in 2Bc mutants. However, the isoforms are required at two different developmental stages, with BRC-Z2 and -Z3 required earlier than BRC-Z1. The sequential action of BRC isoforms indicates subfunctionalization of duplicated ZBRC exons even when they contribute to common developmental processes.

Circadian changes in Drosophila motor terminals

In Drosophila melanogaster, as in most other higher organisms, a circadian clock controls the rhythmic distribution of rest/sleep and locomotor activity. Here we report that the morphology of Drosophila flight neuromuscular terminals changes between day and night, with a rhythm in synaptic bouton size that continues in constant darkness, but is abolished during aging. Furthermore, arrhythmic mutations in the clock genes timeless and period also disrupt this circadian rhythm. Finally, these clock mutants also have an opposing effect on the nonrhythmic phenotype of neuronal branching, with tim mutants showing a dramatic hyperbranching morphology and per mutants having fewer branches than wild-type flies. These unexpected results reveal further circadian as well as nonclock related pleiotropic effects for these classic behavioral mutants.

A steroid hormone affects sodium channel expression in Manduca central neurons

Neuronal differentiation is characterized by stereotypical sequences of membrane channel and receptor acquisition. This is regulated by the coordinated interactions of a variety of developmental mechanisms, one of which is the control by steroid hormones. We have used the metamorphosis of the holometabolous insect, Manduca sexta, as a model to study effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone on the maturation of thoracic neuron membrane channel expression. To test for direct hormone action, neurons were dissociated into primary cell culture on the first day of pupal life. In situ hybridization demonstrated that the amount of expression of the acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit, MARA1, was not affected by 20-hydroxyecdysone. Immunocytochemistry with an antibody directed against the SP19 segment of voltage-gated sodium channels revealed no effect of 20-hydroxyecdysone treatment during the first 6 days in culture. SP19 sodium channel protein was evenly distributed along all neurites. In contrast, after 8 days in culture, 20-hydroxyecdysone increased the amount of SP19 protein expression and strongly affected its distribution in differentiating neurons. In the presence of 20-hydroxyecdysone, patches of high densities of SP19 sodium channel protein were found in growth cones close to the base of filopodia. This is a further step toward unraveling the blend of membrane proteins under the control of steroids during the development of the central nervous system of postembryonic Manduca. Our results, taken together with previous studies, indicate that 20-hydroxyecdysone does not affect the expression of potassium membrane current or of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor but instead regulates the amplitude of the calcium membrane current and the amount and distribution of SP19 sodium channel protein.

Interaction between hormonal signaling pathways in Drosophila melanogaster as revealed by genetic interaction between methoprene-tolerant and broad-complex

Juvenile hormone (JH) regulates insect development by a poorly understood mechanism. Application of JH agonist insecticides to Drosophila melanogaster during the ecdysone-driven onset of metamorphosis results in lethality and specific morphogenetic defects, some of which resemble those in mutants of the ecdysone-regulated Broad-Complex (BR-C). The Methoprene-tolerant (Met) bHLH-PAS gene mediates JH action, and Met mutations protect against the lethality and defects. To explore relationships among these two genes and JH, double mutants were constructed between Met alleles and alleles of each of the BR-C complementation groups: broad (br), reduced bristles on palpus (rbp), and 2Bc. Defects in viability and oogenesis were consistently more severe in rbp Met or br Met double mutants than would be expected if these genes act independently. Additionally, complementation between BR-C mutant alleles often failed when MET was absent. Patterns of BRC protein accumulation during metamorphosis revealed essentially no difference between wild-type and Met-null individuals. JH agonist treatment did not block accumulation of BRC proteins. We propose that MET and BRC interact to control transcription of one or more downstream effector genes, which can be disrupted either by mutations in Met or BR-C or by application of JH/JH agonist, which alters MET interaction with BRC.