Abstract
Post-transcriptional regulation of stem cell self-renewal by microRNAs is emerging as an important mechanism controlling tissue homeostasis. Here, we provide evidence that bantam microRNA controls neuroblast number and proliferation in the Drosophila central brain. Bantam also supports proliferation of transit-amplifying intermediate neural progenitor cells in type II neuroblast lineages. The stem cell factors brat and prospero are identified as bantam targets acting on different aspects of these processes. Thus, bantam appears to act in multiple regulatory steps in the maintenance and proliferation of neuroblasts and their progeny to regulate growth of the central brain.
Highlights
In recent years, Drosophila neural stem cells have emerged as an important model for understanding stem cell function and regulation
AND DISCUSSION bantam is expressed in neural progenitors of the larval central nervous system (CNS) As a first step to characterize the expression of bantam in brain neuroblasts, we examined a lacZ reporter transgene inserted at the bantam locus
Projection of a series of optical sections showed that bantam-lacZ was expressed in all Dpn+ cells (Fig. 1A), indicating that bantam is expressed in the neuronal progenitor cells of the larval central brain. bantam-lacZ was expressed in the Dpn+ cells in the optic lobes, albeit at lower levels (Fig. S1)
Summary
Drosophila neural stem cells have emerged as an important model for understanding stem cell function and regulation. Bantam mutants have fewer neuroblasts and show a cell-autonomous effect on neuroblast growth and proliferation in the larval central brain, resulting in a reduction in the total number of post-mitotic neurons. We identify brat and prospero as functionally significant targets through which bantam controls type II neural progenitor growth and proliferation in the Drosophila brain.
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