title: Silencing D. melanogaster lgr1 impairs transition from larval to pupal stage.
abstract: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play key roles in a wide diversity of physiological processes and signalling pathways. The leucine-rich repeats containing GPCRs (LGRs) are a subfamily that is well-conserved throughout most metazoan phyla and have important regulatory roles in vertebrates. Here, we report on the critical role of Drosophila melanogaster LGR1, the fruit fly homologue of the vertebrate glycoprotein hormone receptors, in development as a factor involved in the regulation of pupariation. Transcript profiling revealed that lgr1 transcripts are most abundant in third instar larvae and adult flies. The tissues displaying the highest transcript levels were the hindgut, the rectum and the salivary glands. Knockdown using RNA interference (RNAi) demonstrated that white pupa formation was severely suppressed in D. melanogaster lgr1 RNAi larvae. Associated with this developmental defect was a reduced ecdysteroid titer, which is in line with significantly reduced transcript levels detected for the Halloween genes shadow (sad) and spookier (spok) in the third instar lgr1 RNAi larvae compared to the control condition.
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Naamsestraat 59, PO Box 2465, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: hanspeter.vandersmissen@bio.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Hans Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Vandersmissen
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Naamsestraat 59, PO Box 2465, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: boris.vanhiel@bio.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Matthias Boris
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Van Hiel
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Naamsestraat 59, PO Box 2465, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: tom.vanloy@bio.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Van Loy
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Naamsestraat 59, PO Box 2465, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: rut.vleugels@bio.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Rut
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vleugels
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Naamsestraat 59, PO Box 2465, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: jozef.vandenbroeck@bio.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanden Broeck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D044385:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits / Q000235:genetics; D044387:GTP-Binding Protein beta Subunits / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D020868:Gene Silencing; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D044385:GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits; D044387:GTP-Binding Protein beta Subunits; C416852:LGR1 protein, Drosophila; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
keywords: Drosophila; Ecdysteroid; Glycoprotein hormone; Leucine-rich repeats containing GPCR (LGR); Metamorphosis; Pupariation