WEADE: A workflow for enrichment analysis and data exploration

Autonomous function of Antennapedia in adult muscle precursors directly connects Hox genes to adult muscle development

The evolutionarily conserved Hox genes define segment identities along the anterior-posterior axis and are expressed in most cell types within each segment, performing specific functions tailored to cellular needs. It has been suggested previously that Drosophila adult flight muscles in the second thoracic segment (T2) develop without direct Hox gene input, relying instead on ectodermal signals to shape their identity. However, our research, leveraging single-cell transcriptomics of Drosophila wing discs and Hox perturbation experiments using CRISPR technology and gain-of-function assays, unveiled a more intricate regulatory landscape. We found that the Hox protein Antennapedia (Antp) is essential for adult flight muscle development, acting in two crucial ways: by regulating the cell cycle rate of adult muscle precursors (AMPs) through repression of proliferation genes, and by guiding flight muscle fate via regulation of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling during cell fate establishment. Antp, along with its co-factor Apterous (Ap), directly interacts with the patched (ptc) locus to control its expression in AMPs. These findings challenge the notion of T2 as a 'Hox-free' zone, highlighting the indispensable role of low-level Antp expression in adult muscle development.

An Evolutionary Perspective on Hox Binding Site Preferences in Two Different Tissues

Transcription factor (TF) networks define the precise development of multicellular organisms. While many studies focused on TFs expressed in specific cell types to elucidate their contribution to cell specification and differentiation, it is less understood how broadly expressed TFs perform their precise functions in the different cellular contexts. To uncover differences that could explain tissue-specific functions of such TFs, we analyzed here genomic chromatin interactions of the broadly expressed Drosophila Hox TF Ultrabithorax (Ubx) in the mesodermal and neuronal tissues using bioinformatics. Our investigations showed that Ubx preferentially interacts with multiple yet tissue-specific chromatin sites in putative regulatory regions of genes in both tissues. Importantly, we found the classical Hox/Ubx DNA binding motif to be enriched only among the neuronal Ubx chromatin interactions, whereas a novel Ubx-like motif with rather low predicted Hox affinities was identified among the regions bound by Ubx in the mesoderm. Finally, our analysis revealed that tissues-specific Ubx chromatin sites are also different with regards to the distribution of active and repressive histone marks. Based on our data, we propose that the tissue-related differences in Ubx binding behavior could be a result of the emergence of the mesoderm as a new germ layer in triploblastic animals, which might have required the Hox TFs to relax their binding specificity.

ATF4-Induced Warburg Metabolism Drives Over-Proliferation in Drosophila

The mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) enables essential metabolic reactions; nonetheless, the cellular responses to defects in mitochondria and the modulation of signaling pathway outputs are not understood. We show that Notch signaling and ETC attenuation via knockdown of COX7a induces massive over-proliferation. The tumor-like growth is caused by a transcriptional response through the eIF2α-kinase PERK and ATF4, which activates the expression of metabolic enzymes, nutrient transporters, and mitochondrial chaperones. We find this stress adaptation to be beneficial for progenitor cell fitness, as it renders cells sensitive to proliferation induced by the Notch signaling pathway. Intriguingly, over-proliferation is not caused by transcriptional cooperation of Notch and ATF4, but it is mediated in part by pH changes resulting from the Warburg metabolism induced by ETC attenuation. Our results suggest that ETC function is monitored by the PERK-ATF4 pathway, which can be hijacked by growth-promoting signaling pathways, leading to oncogenic pathway activity.

The Hox transcription factor Ubx stabilizes lineage commitment by suppressing cellular plasticity in Drosophila

During development cells become restricted in their differentiation potential by repressing alternative cell fates, and the Polycomb complex plays a crucial role in this process. However, how alternative fate genes are lineage-specifically silenced is unclear. We studied Ultrabithorax (Ubx), a multi-lineage transcription factor of the Hox class, in two tissue lineages using sorted nuclei and interfered with Ubx in mesodermal cells. We find that depletion of Ubx leads to the de-repression of genes normally expressed in other lineages. Ubx silences expression of alternative fate genes by retaining the Polycomb Group protein Pleiohomeotic at Ubx targeted genomic regions, thereby stabilizing repressive chromatin marks in a lineage-dependent manner. Our study demonstrates that Ubx stabilizes lineage choice by suppressing the multipotency encoded in the genome via its interaction with Pho. This mechanism may explain why the Hox code is maintained throughout the lifecycle, since it could set a block to transdifferentiation in adult cells.