title: The microRNA miR-8 is a positive regulator of pigmentation and eclosion in Drosophila.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally silence gene expression by binding to target mRNAs. Previous studies have identified the miRNA miR-8 as a pleiotropic regulator of Drosophila development, controlling body size and neuronal survival by targeting multiple mRNAs. In this study we demonstrate that miR-8 is also required for proper spatial patterning of pigment on the adult abdominal cuticle in females but not males.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Female adult flies lacking miR-8 exhibit decreased pigmentation of the dorsal abdomen, with a pattern of pigmentation similar to wild type flies grown at higher temperatures. This pigmentation defect in miR-8 mutants is independent of the previously reported body size defect, and miR-8 acts directly in the developing cuticle to regulate pigmentation patterning. The decrease in pigmentation in miR-8 mutants was more pronounced in flies grown at higher temperatures. We also found that loss of miR-8 dramatically affected the ability to eclose at higher temperatures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Loss of miR-8 increased the sensitivity of Drosophila to higher temperatures for both pigmentation patterning and the ability to eclose. Together, these data suggest that miR-8 acts as a buffer to stabilize gene expression patterns in the midst of environmental variation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York 12604, USA. jekennell@vassar.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kennell
authors.forename: Ken M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cadigan
authors.forename: Iryna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shakhmantsir
authors.forename: Evan J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Waldron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004330:Drosophila / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000235:genetics*; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; C526630:MIRN8 microRNA, Drosophila