The Drosophila selenoprotein BthD is required for survival and has a role in salivary gland development.
Selenium is implicated in many diseases, including cancer, but its function at the molecular level is poorly understood. BthD is one of three selenoproteins recently identified in Drosophila. To elucidate the function of BthD and the role of selenoproteins in cellular metabolism and health, we analyzed the developmental expression profile of this protein and used inducible RNA interference (RNAi) to ablate function. We find that BthD is dynamically expressed during Drosophila development. bthD mRNA and protein are abundant in the ovaries of female flies and are deposited into the developing oocyte. Maternally contributed protein and RNA persist during early embryonic development but decay by the onset of gastrulation. At later stages of embryogenesis, BthD is expressed highly in the developing salivary gland. We generated transgenic fly lines carrying an inducible gene-silencing construct, in which an inverted bthD genomic-cDNA hybrid is under the control of the Drosophila Gal4 upstream activation sequence system. Duplex RNAi induced from this construct targeted BthD mRNA for destruction and reduced BthD protein levels. We found that loss of BthD compromised salivary gland morphogenesis and reduced animal viability.
Kwon
So Yeon
SY
Basic Research Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Badenhorst
Paul
P
Martin-Romero
F Javier
FJ
Carlson
Bradley A
BA
Paterson
Bruce M
BM
Gladyshev
Vadim N
VN
Lee
Byeong Jae
BJ
Hatfield
Dolph L
DL
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D010641:Phenotype; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000196:embryology*; D051140:Selenoproteins; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051140:Selenoproteins