Novel cis-regulatory regions in ecdysone responsive genes are sufficient to promote gene expression in Drosophila ovarian cells

Publication date: Available online 26 September 2019Source: Gene Expression PatternsAuthor(s): Samantha I. McDonald, Allison N. Beachum, Taylor D. Hinnant, Amelia J. Blake, Tierra Bynum, E. Parris Hickman, Joseph Barnes, Kaely L. Churchill, Tamesia S. Roberts, Denise E. Zangwill, Elizabeth T. AblesAbstractThe insect steroid hormone ecdysone is a key regulator of oogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster and many other species. Despite the diversity of cellular functions of ecdysone in oogenesis, the molecular regulation of most ecdysone-responsive genes in ovarian cells remains largely unexplored. We performed a functional screen using the UAS/Gal4 system to identify non-coding cis-regulatory elements within well-characterized ecdysone-response genes capable of driving transcription of an indelible reporter in ovarian cells. Using two publicly available transgenic collections (the FlyLight and Vienna Tiles resources), we tested 62 Gal4 drivers corresponding to ecdysone-response genes EcR, usp, E75, br, ftz-f1 and Hr3. We observed 31 lines that were sufficient to drive a UAS-lacZ reporter in discrete cell populations in the ovary. Reporter expression was reproducibly observed in both somatic and germ cells at distinct stages of oogenesis, including those previously characterized as critical points of ecdysone regulation. Our studies identified several useful new reagents, adding to the UAS/Gal4 toolkit available for genetic analysis of oogenesis in Drosophila. Further, our study pr...

Source: Gene Expression Patterns - September 27, 2019 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research