title: Orphan nuclear receptor betaFTZ-F1 is required for muscle-driven morphogenetic events at the prepupal-pupal transition in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: In Drosophila melanogaster, fluctuations in 20-hydroxyecdysone (ecdysone) titer coordinate gene expression, cell death, and morphogenesis during metamorphosis. Our previous studies have supported the hypothesis that betaFTZ-F1 (an orphan nuclear receptor) provides specific genes with the competence to be induced by ecdysone at the appropriate time, thus directing key developmental events at the prepupal-pupal transition. We are examining the role of betaFTZ-F1 in morphogenesis. We have made a detailed study of morphogenetic events during metamorphosis in control and betaFTZ-F1 mutant animals. We show that leg development in betaFTZ-F1 mutants proceeds normally until the prepupal-pupal transition, when final leg elongation is delayed by several hours and significantly reduced in the mutants. We also show that betaFTZ-F1 mutants fail to fully extend their wings and to shorten their bodies at the prepupal-pupal transition. We find that betaFTZ-F1 mutants are unable to properly perform the muscle contractions that drive these processes. Several defects can be rescued by subjecting the mutants to a drop in pressure during the normal time of the prepupal-pupal transition. Our findings indicate that betaFTZ-F1 directs the muscle contraction events that drive the major morphogenetic processes during the prepupal-pupal transition in Drosophila.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA 01075, USA.
authors.forename: Tina M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fortier
authors.forename: Priya P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Vasa
authors.forename: Craig T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Woodard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000254:growth & development*; D005121:Extremities / Q000254:growth & development; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation; D011679:Pupa / Q000502:physiology*; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D054339:Steroidogenic Factor 1; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D054339:Steroidogenic Factor 1; D014157:Transcription Factors; C497169:ftz protein, Drosophila; C499712:nuclear hormone receptor FTZ-F1, Drosophila