The lncRNA male-specific abdominal plays a critical role in Drosophila accessory gland development and male fertility

PLoS Genetics
Robert K MaedaFrançois Karch

Abstract

Although thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been identified in the genomes of higher eukaryotes, the precise function of most of them is still unclear. Here, we show that a >65 kb, male-specific, lncRNA, called male-specific abdominal (msa) is required for the development of the secondary cells of the Drosophila male accessory gland (AG). msa is transcribed from within the Drosophila bithorax complex and shares much of its sequence with another lncRNA, the iab-8 lncRNA, which is involved in the development of the central nervous system (CNS). Both lncRNAs perform much of their functions via a shared miRNA embedded within their sequences. Loss of msa, or of the miRNA it contains, causes defects in secondary cell morphology and reduces male fertility. Although both lncRNAs express the same miRNA, the phenotype in the secondary cells and the CNS seem to reflect misregulation of different targets in the two tissues.

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Citations

Jul 1, 2020·Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology·Sufang ZhangZhang Zhen
Sep 25, 2019·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Keqin LiDeying Yang
Mar 20, 2020·Nature Communications·Peter KerwinAnne C von Philipsborn
Nov 8, 2020·Genetics·Welcome W Bender
May 1, 2021·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Chhavi ChoudharyJayendra Nath Shukla
Apr 21, 2021·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Clément ImmarigeonRobert K Maeda
Jun 27, 2021·Developmental and Comparative Immunology·Hongjian ZhouShengjie Li
Jun 25, 2020·Developmental Cell·Daniel L GarauletEric C Lai
Nov 16, 2021·PLoS Genetics·Javier J Castro AlvarezRobert K Maeda

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
transgenic
phase contrast microscopy
glycosylation
RNA-seq
PCR

Software Mentioned

JMP9
InSiRT
ImageJ
Prism

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