MicroRNAs in the Drosophila bithorax complex.
The iab-4 noncoding RNA from the Drosophila bithorax complex is the substrate for a microRNA (miRNA). Gene conversion was used to delete the hairpin precursor of this miRNA; flies homozygous for this deletion are sterile. Surprisingly, this mutation complements with rearrangement breakpoint mutations that disrupt the iab-4 RNA but fails to complement with breaks mapping in the iab-5 through iab-7 regulatory regions. These breaks disrupt the iab-8 RNA, transcribed from the opposite strand. This iab-8 RNA also encodes a miRNA, detected on Northern blots, derived from the hairpin complementary to the iab-4 precursor hairpin. Ultrabithorax is a target of both miRNAs, although its repression is subtle in both cases.
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Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005785:Gene Conversion; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017344:Genes, Insect; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D013909:Thorax / Q000196:embryology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D014157:Transcription Factors; C066177:Ubx protein, Drosophila