title: Transgenic microRNA inhibition with spatiotemporal specificity in intact organisms.
abstract: MicroRNAs are important regulators of gene expression, yet the functional outputs of most microRNA-target interactions remain elusive. Here we introduce the Drosophila melanogaster microRNA sponge (miR-SP) as a powerful transgenic technology to dissect the function of every microRNA with precise spatiotemporal resolution. miR-SPs can be used to characterize tissue-specific microRNA loss-of-function phenotypes, define the spatial regulation of their effectors and uncover interactions between microRNAs and other genes. Using themiR-SP system, we identified an essential role of the conserved microRNA miR-8, in neuromuscular junction formation. Tissue-specific silencing revealed that postsynaptic activity of miR-8 is important for normal neuromuscular junction morphogenesis. Given that miR-SPs rely on a bipartite modular expression system, they could be used to elucidate the endogenous function of microRNAs in any species in which conditional expression can be achieved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Loya
authors.forename: Cecilia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van Vactor
authors.forename: Tudor A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Fulga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs