Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: April 14, 2017
Molecular chaperones activate the Drosophila ecdysone receptor, an RXR heterodimer
1Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305, USA.
Abstract:
The steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone coordinates the stages of Drosophila development by activating a nuclear receptor heterodimer consisting of the ecdysone receptor, EcR, and the Drosophila RXR receptor, USP. We show that EcR/USP DNA binding activity requires activation by a chaperone heterocomplex like that required for activation of the vertebrate steroid receptors, but not previously shown to be required for activation of RXR heterodimers. Six proteins normally present in the chaperone complex were individually purified and shown to be sufficient for this activation. We also show that two of the six (Hsp90 and Hsc70) are required in vivo for ecdysone receptor activity, and that EcR is the primary target of the chaperone complex.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding
The...
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Dosage Compensation
In addition to sexual development, the X chromosome has genes involved in autosomal functions such as brain development and the immune system. Therefore, males and females with distinct numbers of X chromosomes will have...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
The Unfolded Protein Response
Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response

