Chinmo is the larval member of the molecular trinity that directs Drosophila metamorphosis
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The molecular control of insect metamorphosis from larva to pupa to adult has long been a mystery. The Broad and E93 transcription factors, which can modify chromatin domains, are known to direct the production of the pupa and the adult, respectively. We now show that chinmo, a gene related to broad, is essential for the repression of these metamorphic genes. Chinmo is strongly expressed during the formation and growth of the larva and its removal results in the precocious expression of broad and E93 in the first stage larva, causing a shift from larval to premetamorphic functions. This trinity of Chinmo, Broad, and E93 regulatory factors is mutually inhibitory. The interaction of this network with regulatory hormones likely ensures the orderly progression through insect metamorphosis.
Authors: James W. Truman, Lynn M. Riddiford
Institutions: University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
OpenAlex ID: W4224046048