title: Viability, longevity, and egg production of Drosophila melanogaster are regulated by the miR-282 microRNA.
abstract: The first microRNAs were discovered some 20 years ago, but only a small fraction of the microRNA-encoding genes have been described in detail yet. Here we report the molecular analysis of a computationally predicted Drosophila melanogaster microRNA gene, mir-282. We show that the mir-282 gene is the source of a 4.9-kb-long primary transcript with a 5' cap and a 3'-poly(A) sequence and a mature microRNA of ∼25 bp. Our data strongly suggest the existence of an independent mir-282 gene conserved in holometabolic insects. We give evidence that the mir-282 locus encodes a functional transcript that influences viability, longevity, and egg production in Drosophila. We identify the nervous system-specific adenylate cyclase (rutabaga) as a target of miR-282 and assume that one of the main functions of mir-282 is the regulation of adenylate cyclase activity in the nervous system during metamorphosis.
authors.affiliation: Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vilmos
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bujna
authors.forename: Milán
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szuperák
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Havelda
authors.forename: Éva
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Várallyay
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szabad
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kucerova
authors.forename: Kálmán
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Somogyi
authors.forename: Ildikó
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kristó
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lukácsovich
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jankovics
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Henn
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erdélyi
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010063:Ovum / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: C588355:MIRN282 microRNA, Drosophila; D035683:MicroRNAs; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases
keywords: Drosophila; gene; miR; microRNA (miRNA)