Drosophilap27Dacapo expression during embryogenesis is controlled by a complex regulatory region independent of cell cycle progression

Proper CycE-Cdk2 activity in endocycling tissues requires regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor Dacapo by dE2F1b in Drosophila

Polyploidy is an integral part of development and is associated with cellular stress, aging, and pathological conditions. The endocycle, comprised of successive rounds of G and S phases without mitosis, is widely employed to produce polyploid cells in plants and animals. In Drosophila, maintenance of the endocycle is dependent on E2F-governed oscillations of Cyclin E (CycE)-Cdk2 activity, which is known to be largely regulated at the level of transcription. In this study, we report an additional level of E2F-dependent control of CycE-Cdk2 activity during the endocycle. Genetic experiments revealed that an alternative isoform of Drosophila de2f1, dE2F1b, regulates the expression of the p27CIP/KIP-like Cdk inhibitor Dacapo (Dap). We provide evidence showing that dE2F1b-dependent Dap expression in endocycling tissues is necessary for setting proper CycE-Cdk2 activity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that dE2F1b is required for proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression that establishes a negative feedback loop in S phase. Overall, our study reveals previously unappreciated E2F-dependent regulatory networks that are critical for the periodic transition between G and S phases during the endocycle.

Control of Neural Daughter Cell Proliferation by Multi-level Notch/Su(H)/E(spl)-HLH Signaling

The Notch pathway controls proliferation during development and in adulthood, and is frequently affected in many disorders. However, the genetic sensitivity and multi-layered transcriptional properties of the Notch pathway has made its molecular decoding challenging. Here, we address the complexity of Notch signaling with respect to proliferation, using the developing Drosophila CNS as model. We find that a Notch/Su(H)/E(spl)-HLH cascade specifically controls daughter, but not progenitor proliferation. Additionally, we find that different E(spl)-HLH genes are required in different neuroblast lineages. The Notch/Su(H)/E(spl)-HLH cascade alters daughter proliferation by regulating four key cell cycle factors: Cyclin E, String/Cdc25, E2f and Dacapo (mammalian p21CIP1/p27KIP1/p57Kip2). ChIP and DamID analysis of Su(H) and E(spl)-HLH indicates direct transcriptional regulation of the cell cycle genes, and of the Notch pathway itself. These results point to a multi-level signaling model and may help shed light on the dichotomous proliferative role of Notch signaling in many other systems.

Developmental control of transcriptional and proliferative potency during the evolutionary emergence of animals

It is proposed that the evolution of complex animals required repressive genetic mechanisms for controlling the transcriptional and proliferative potency of cells. Unicellular organisms are transcriptionally potent, able to express their full genetic complement as the need arises through their life cycle, whereas differentiated cells of multicellular organisms can only express a fraction of their genomic potential. Likewise, whereas cell proliferation in unicellular organisms is primarily limited by nutrient availability, cell proliferation in multicellular organisms is developmentally regulated. Repressive genetic controls limiting the potency of cells at the end of ontogeny would have stabilized the gene expression states of differentiated cells and prevented disruptive proliferation, allowing the emergence of diverse cell types and functional shapes. We propose that distal cis-regulatory elements represent the primary innovations that set the stage for the evolution of developmental gene regulatory networks and the repressive control of key multipotency and cell-cycle control genes. The testable prediction of this model is that the genomes of extant animals, unlike those of our unicellular relatives, encode gene regulatory circuits dedicated to the developmental control of transcriptional and proliferative potency.

The polarity protein Baz forms a platform for the centrosome orientation during asymmetric stem cell division in the Drosophila male germline

Many stem cells divide asymmetrically in order to balance self-renewal with differentiation. The essence of asymmetric cell division (ACD) is the polarization of cells and subsequent division, leading to unequal compartmentalization of cellular/extracellular components that confer distinct cell fates to daughter cells. Because precocious cell division before establishing cell polarity would lead to failure in ACD, these two processes must be tightly coupled; however, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In Drosophila male germline stem cells, ACD is prepared by stereotypical centrosome positioning. The centrosome orientation checkpoint (COC) further serves to ensure ACD by preventing mitosis upon centrosome misorientation. In this study, we show that Bazooka (Baz) provides a platform for the correct centrosome orientation and that Baz-centrosome association is the key event that is monitored by the COC. Our work provides a foundation for understanding how the correct cell polarity may be recognized by the cell to ensure productive ACD.

The centrosome orientation checkpoint is germline stem cell specific and operates prior to the spindle assembly checkpoint in Drosophila testis

Asymmetric cell division is utilized by a broad range of cell types to generate two daughter cells with distinct cell fates. In stem cell populations asymmetric cell division is believed to be crucial for maintaining tissue homeostasis, failure of which can lead to tissue degeneration or hyperplasia/tumorigenesis. Asymmetric cell divisions also underlie cell fate diversification during development. Accordingly, the mechanisms by which asymmetric cell division is achieved have been extensively studied, although the check points that are in place to protect against potential perturbation of the process are poorly understood. Drosophila melanogaster male germline stem cells (GSCs) possess a checkpoint, termed the centrosome orientation checkpoint (COC), that monitors correct centrosome orientation with respect to the component cells of the niche to ensure asymmetric stem cell division. To our knowledge, the COC is the only checkpoint mechanism identified to date that specializes in monitoring the orientation of cell division in multicellular organisms. Here, by establishing colcemid-induced microtubule depolymerization as a sensitive assay, we examined the characteristics of COC activity and find that it functions uniquely in GSCs but not in their differentiating progeny. We show that the COC operates in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, independently of the spindle assembly checkpoint. This study may provide a framework for identifying and understanding similar mechanisms that might be in place in other asymmetrically dividing cell types.

Histone supply regulates S phase timing and cell cycle progression

Eukaryotes package DNA into nucleosomes that contain a core of histone proteins. During DNA replication, nucleosomes are disrupted and re-assembled with newly synthesized histones and DNA. Despite much progress, it is still unclear why higher eukaryotes contain multiple core histone genes, how chromatin assembly is controlled, and how these processes are coordinated with cell cycle progression. We used a histone null mutation of Drosophila melanogaster to show that histone supply levels, provided by a defined number of transgenic histone genes, regulate the length of S phase during the cell cycle. Lack of de novo histone supply not only extends S phase, but also causes a cell cycle arrest during G2 phase, and thus prevents cells from entering mitosis. Our results suggest a novel cell cycle surveillance mechanism that monitors nucleosome assembly without involving the DNA repair pathways and exerts its effect via suppression of CDC25 phosphatase String expression.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02443.001

As a cell prepares to divide, it goes through four distinct stages. First, it grows in size (G1 phase); next it copies its entire DNA content (S phase); then it grows some more (G2 phase); and, last, it splits into two new cells (M phase).

During S phase, groups of histone proteins that normally stick together to tightly package the DNA are pulled apart in order to make the DNA accessible for copying. After the DNA has been duplicated, both copies of the DNA strand need to be repackaged. Therefore, after copying the DNA the cell rapidly reassembles the DNA–histone complexes (called nucleosomes), using a combination of old and newly synthesized histones to do so. A cell can adjust how quickly it copies DNA according to the availability of these histone proteins, which is important because copying DNA without the resources to package it could expose the DNA to damage.

Here, Günesdogan et al. investigate how a cell controls these processes using a mutant of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that completely lacks the genes required to make histones. Cells that lack histones copy their DNA very slowly but adding copies of histone genes back into these flies speeds up the rate at which DNA is copied.

Günesdogan et al. ask whether the slower speed of DNA replication in cells without new histones is connected to preventing DNA damage. However, these cells can still copy all their DNA, despite being unable to package it, so the higher risk of making mistakes is not enough to stop S phase. In fact, indications suggest that DNA damage detection methods continue to work as normal in cells without histones: these cells can get all the way to the end of G2 phase without any problems.

To go one step further and start splitting in two, a cell needs to switch on another gene, called string in the fruit fly and CDC25 in vertebrates, which makes an enzyme required for the cell division process. Normal cells switch on string during G2 phase, but cells that lack histones do not—and therefore do not enter M phase. Günesdogan et al. show that turning on string by a genetic trick is sufficient to overcome this cell cycle arrest and drive the cells into M phase. String could therefore form part of a surveillance mechanism that blocks cell division if DNA–histone complexes are not assembled correctly.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02443.002

Hox targets and cellular functions

Hox genes are a group of genes that specify structures along the anteroposterior axis in bilaterians. Although in many cases they do so by modifying a homologous structure with a different (or no) Hox input, there are also examples of Hox genes constructing new organs with no homology in other regions of the body. Hox genes determine structures though the regulation of targets implementing cellular functions and by coordinating cell behavior. The genetic organization to construct or modify a certain organ involves both a genetic cascade through intermediate transcription factors and a direct regulation of targets carrying out cellular functions. In this review I discuss new data from genome-wide techniques, as well as previous genetic and developmental information, to describe some examples of Hox regulation of different cell functions. I also discuss the organization of genetic cascades leading to the development of new organs, mainly using Drosophila melanogaster as the model to analyze Hox function.

Transcriptional mechanisms of developmental cell cycle arrest: problems and models

Metazoans begin their life as a single cell. Then, this cell enters a more or less protracted period of active cell proliferation, which can be considered as the default cellular state. A crucial event, the developmental cell cycle exit, occurs thereafter. This phenomenon allows for differentiation to happen and regulates the final size of organs and organisms. Its control is still poorly understood. Herein, we review some transcriptional mechanisms of cell cycle exit in animals, and propose to use cellular conveyor belts as model systems for its study. We finally point to evidence that suggests that the mechanisms of developmental cell cycle arrest may have to be maintained in adult tissues.

Increased levels of the cell cycle inhibitor protein, dacapo, accompany 20-hydroxyecdysone-induced G1 arrest in a mosquito cell line

When treated with the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), C7-10 cells from the mosquito, Aedes albopictus, arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. To explore whether 20E-mediated cell cycle arrest proceeds through increased levels of cell cycle inhibitor (CKI) proteins, we cloned the Ae. albopictus homolog of dacapo, the single member of the Cip/Kip family of CKI proteins known from Drosophila melanogaster. The Ae. albopictus dacapo cDNA encoded a 261-amino acid homolog of the Aedes aegypti protein XP_001651102.1, which is encoded by an ∼23 kb gene containing three exons. Like dacapo from D. melanogaster, the ∼27 kDa protein from Aedes and Culex mosquitoes contained several S/TXXE/D motifs corresponding to potential protein kinase CK2 phosphorylation sites, and a binding site for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). When extracts from cells treated with 20E were analyzed by western blotting, using a primary antibody to synthetic peptides from the mosquito dacapo protein, up-regulation of an ∼27 kDa protein was observed within 24 h, and the abundance of the protein further increased by 48 h after hormone treatment. This is the first investigation of a cell cycle inhibitory protein in mosquitoes. The results reinforce growing evidence that 20E affects expression of proteins that regulate cell cycle progression.

Wingless signaling directly regulates cyclin E expression in proliferating embryonic PNS precursor cells

Cell proliferation and cell type specification are coordinately regulated during normal development. Cyclin E, a key G1/S cell cycle regulator, is regulated by multiple tissue-specific enhancers resulting in dynamic expression during Drosophila development. Here, we further characterized the enhancer that regulates cyclin E expression in the developing peripheral nervous system (PNS) and show that multiple sequence elements are required for the full cyclin E PNS enhancer activity. We further show that Wg signaling is important for the expression of cyclin E in the sensory organ precursor (SOP) cells through two conserved TCF binding sites. Blocking Wg signaling does not completely block SOP cell formation but does completely block SOP cell proliferation as well as the subsequent differentiation.

Decline in self-renewal factors contributes to aging of the stem cell niche in the Drosophila testis

Aging is characterized by compromised organ and tissue function. A decrease in stem cell number and/or activity could lead to the aging-related decline in tissue homeostasis. We have analyzed how the process of aging affects germ line stem cell (GSC) behavior in the Drosophila testis and report that significant changes within the stem cell microenvironment, or niche, occur that contribute to a decline in stem cell number over time. Specifically, somatic niche cells in testes from older males display reduced expression of the cell adhesion molecule DE-cadherin and a key self-renewal signal unpaired (upd). Loss of upd correlates with an overall decrease in stem cells residing within the niche. Conversely, forced expression of upd within niche cells maintains GSCs in older males. Therefore, our data indicate that age-related changes within stem cell niches may be a significant contributing factor to reduced tissue homeostasis and regeneration in older individuals.

Proneural basic helix-loop-helix proteins and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling coordinately regulate cell type specification and cdk inhibitor expression during development

Cell differentiation and cell cycle exit are coordinately regulated during development; however, the molecular logic underlying this regulation is not known. The Drosophila cdk inhibitor Dacapo (Dap) is one of the key cell cycle regulators that exhibit dynamic expression during development and contribute to the developmental regulation of the cell cycle. In this study, regulation of Dap expression during cell type specification was investigated. The expression of Dap in the R2 and R5 precursors of the developing eye and in the newly recruited leg disc femoral sense organ precursors was found to be controlled by the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling-regulated transcription factor Pointed (Pnt) and the proneural basic helix-loop-helix proteins Atonal (Ato) and Daughterless (Da). We show that Pnt, Ato, and Da regulate Dap expression directly through their respective binding sites precisely at the time when these transcription factors function to specify neural fates. These results show that Dap expression is directly regulated by developmental mechanisms that simultaneously control cell type specification. This is potentially a general mechanism by which the expression of key cell cycle regulators is coordinated with differentiation during normal development. The direct regulation of key cell cycle regulators by the differentiation factors ensures coordinated regulation of cell cycle and differentiation.

Rbf1-independent termination of E2f1-target gene expression during early Drosophila embryogenesis

The initiation and maintenance of G1 cell cycle arrest is a key feature of animal development. In the Drosophila ectoderm, G1 arrest first appears during the seventeenth embryonic cell cycle. The initiation of G1(17) arrest requires the developmentally-induced expression of Dacapo, a p27-like Cyclin E-Cdk2 inhibitor. The maintenance of G1(17) arrest requires Rbf1-dependent repression of E2f1-regulated replication factor genes, which are expressed continuously during cycles 1-16 when S phase immediately follows mitosis. The mechanisms that trigger Rbf1 repressor function and mediate G1(17) maintenance are unknown. Here we show that the initial downregulation of expression of the E2f1-target gene RnrS, which occurs during cycles 15 and 16 prior to entry into G1(17), does not require Rbf1 or p27(Dap). This suggests a mechanism for Rbf1-independent control of E2f1 during early development. We show that E2f1 protein is destroyed in a cell cycle-dependent manner during S phase of cycles 15 and 16. E2f1 is destroyed during early S phase, and requires ongoing DNA replication. E2f1 protein reaccumulates in epidermal cells arrested in G1(17), and in these cells the induction of p27(Dap) activates Rbf1 to repress E2f1-target genes to maintain a stable G1 arrest.

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors in yeast, animals, and plants: a functional comparison

The cell cycle is remarkably conserved in yeast, animals, and plants and is controlled by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). CDK activity can be inhibited by binding of CDK inhibitory proteins, designated CKIs. Numerous studies show that CKIs are essential in orchestrating eukaryotic cell proliferation and differentiation. In yeast, animals, and plants, CKIs act as regulators of the G1 checkpoint in response to environmental and developmental cues and assist during mitotic cell cycles by inhibiting CDK activity required to arrest mitosis. Furthermore, CKIs play an important role in regulating cell cycle exit that precedes differentiation and in promoting differentiation in cooperation with transcription factors. Moreover, CKIs are essential to control CDK activity in endocycling cells. So, in yeast, animals, and plants, CKIs share many functional similarities, but their functions are adapted toward the specific needs of the eukaryote.

Notch signaling through tramtrack bypasses the mitosis promoting activity of the JNK pathway in the mitotic-to-endocycle transition of Drosophila follicle cells

Background

The follicle cells of the Drosophila egg chamber provide an excellent model in which to study modulation of the cell cycle. During mid-oogenesis, the follicle cells undergo a variation of the cell cycle, endocycle, in which the cells replicate their DNA, but do not go through mitosis. Previously, we showed that Notch signaling is required for the mitotic-to-endocycle transition, through downregulating String/Cdc25, and Dacapo/p21 and upregulating Fizzy-related/Cdh1.

Results

In this paper, we show that Notch signaling is modulated by Shaggy and temporally induced by the ligand Delta, at the mitotic-to-endocycle transition. In addition, a downstream target of Notch, tramtrack, acts at the mitotic-to-endocycle transition. We also demonstrate that the JNK pathway is required to promote mitosis prior to the transition, independent of the cell cycle components acted on by the Notch pathway.

Conclusion

This work reveals new insights into the regulation of Notch-dependent mitotic-to-endocycle switch.

Stem cell division is regulated by the microRNA pathway

One of the key characteristics of stem cells is their capacity to divide for long periods of time in an environment where most of the cells are quiescent. Therefore, a critical question in stem cell biology is how stem cells escape cell division stop signals. Here, we report the necessity of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway for proper control of germline stem cell (GSC) division in Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of GSCs mutant for dicer-1 (dcr-1), the double-stranded RNaseIII essential for miRNA biogenesis, revealed a marked reduction in the rate of germline cyst production. These dcr-1 mutant GSCs exhibit normal identity but are defective in cell cycle control. On the basis of cell cycle markers and genetic interactions, we conclude that dcr-1 mutant GSCs are delayed in the G1 to S transition, which is dependent on the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor Dacapo, suggesting that miRNAs are required for stem cells to bypass the normal G1/S checkpoint. Hence, the miRNA pathway might be part of a mechanism that makes stem cells insensitive to environmental signals that normally stop the cell cycle at the G1/S transition.

Cell cycle diversity involves differential regulation of Cyclin E activity in the Drosophila bristle cell lineage

In the Drosophila bristle lineage, five differentiated cells arise from a precursor cell after a rapid sequence of asymmetric cell divisions (one every 2 hours). We show that, in mitotic cells, this rapid cadence of cell divisions is associated with cell cycles essentially devoid of the G1-phase. This feature is due to the expression of Cyclin E that precedes each cell division, and the differential expression of the S-transition negative regulator, Dacapo. Thus, apart from endocycles (G/S), which occurred in two out of five terminal cells, two other cell cycles coexist in this lineage: (1) an atypical cell cycle (S/G2/M), in which the S-phase is initiated during the preceding telophase; and (2) a canonical cell cycle (G1/S/G2/M) with a brief G1 phase. These two types of cell cycle result from either the absence or very transient expression of Dap, respectively. Finally, we show that the fate determinant factor, Tramtrack, downregulates Cyclin E expression and is probably involved in the exit of the cells from the cell cycle.

Hairy transcriptional repression targets and cofactor recruitment in Drosophila

Members of the widely conserved Hairy/Enhancer of split family of basic Helix-Loop-Helix repressors are essential for proper Drosophila and vertebrate development and are misregulated in many cancers. While a major step forward in understanding the molecular mechanism(s) surrounding Hairy-mediated repression was made with the identification of Groucho, Drosophila C-terminal binding protein (dCtBP), and Drosophila silent information regulator 2 (dSir2) as Hairy transcriptional cofactors, the identity of Hairy target genes and the rules governing cofactor recruitment are relatively unknown. We have used the chromatin profiling method DamID to perform a global and systematic search for direct transcriptional targets for Drosophila Hairy and the genomic recruitment sites for three of its cofactors: Groucho, dCtBP, and dSir2. Each of the proteins was tethered to Escherichia coli DNA adenine methyltransferase, permitting methylation proximal to in vivo binding sites in both Drosophila Kc cells and early embryos. This approach identified 40 novel genomic targets for Hairy in Kc cells, as well as 155 loci recruiting Groucho, 107 loci recruiting dSir2, and wide genomic binding of dCtBP to 496 loci. We also adapted DamID profiling such that we could use tightly gated collections of embryos (2-6 h) and found 20 Hairy targets related to early embryogenesis. As expected of direct targets, all of the putative Hairy target genes tested show Hairy-dependent expression and have conserved consensus C-box-containing sequences that are directly bound by Hairy in vitro. The distribution of Hairy targets in both the Kc cell and embryo DamID experiments corresponds to Hairy binding sites in vivo on polytene chromosomes. Similarly, the distributions of loci recruiting each of Hairy's cofactors are detected as cofactor binding sites in vivo on polytene chromosomes. We have identified 59 putative transcriptional targets of Hairy. In addition to finding putative targets for Hairy in segmentation, we find groups of targets suggesting roles for Hairy in cell cycle, cell growth, and morphogenesis, processes that must be coordinately regulated with pattern formation. Examining the recruitment of Hairy's three characterized cofactors to their putative target genes revealed that cofactor recruitment is context-dependent. While Groucho is frequently considered to be the primary Hairy cofactor, we find here that it is associated with only a minority of Hairy targets. The majority of Hairy targets are associated with the presence of a combination of dCtBP and dSir2. Thus, the DamID chromatin profiling technique provides a systematic means of identifying transcriptional target genes and of obtaining a global view of cofactor recruitment requirements during development.

Regulation of Cell Cycles in Drosophila Development: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cues

An intriguing aspect of cell cycle regulation is how cell growth and division are coordinated with developmental signals to produce properly patterned organisms of the appropriate size. Using the foundation laid by a detailed understanding of the regulators that intrinsically control progression through the cell cycle, links between developmental signals and the cell cycle are being elucidated. Considerable progress has been made using Drosophila melanogaster, both in identifying new cell cycle regulators that respond to developmental cues and in defining the impact of extrinsic signals on homologs of mammalian oncogenes and tumor suppressors. In this review, we discuss each cell cycle phase, highlighting differences between archetypal and variant cell cycles employed for specific developmental strategies. We emphasize the interplay between developmental signals and cell cycle transitions. Developmental control of checkpoints, cell cycle exit, and cell growth are also addressed.