title: MicroRNA miR-7 contributes to the control of Drosophila wing growth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The control of organ growth is critical for correct animal development. From flies to mammals, the mechanisms regulating growth are conserved and the role of microRNAs in this process is emerging. The conserved miR-7 has been described to control several aspects of development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we have analyzed the function of miR-7 during Drosophila wing development. We found that loss of miR-7 function results in a reduction of wing size and produces wing cells that are smaller than wild type cells. We also found that loss of miR-7 function interferes with the cell cycle by affecting the G1 to S phase transition. Further, we present evidence that miR-7 is expressed in the wing imaginal discs and that the inactivation of miR-7 increases the expression of Cut and Senseless proteins in wing discs. Finally, our results show that the simultaneous inactivation of miR-7 and either cut, Notch, or dacapo rescues miR-7 loss of function wing size reduction phenotype.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results from this work reveal, for the first time, that miR-7 functions to regulate Drosophila wing growth by controlling cell cycle phasing and cell mass through its regulation of the expression of dacapo and the Notch signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aparicio
authors.forename: Carolina J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Simoes Da Silva
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Busturia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D060227:Imaginal Discs / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; C540402:Mir7 microRNA, Drosophila; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C066381:ct protein, Drosophila; C103336:dap protein, Drosophila; C413162:sens protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila; cut; dacapo; growth; miR-7; wing