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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus
Published on: December 28, 2016
Differential cytoplasmic mRNA localisation adjusts pair-rule transcription factor activity to cytoarchitecture in
Simon L Bullock1, Michael Stauber, Alexander Prell
1Cancer Research UK, Developmental Genetics Laboratory, PO Box 123, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, UK.
Abstract:
Establishment of segmental pattern in the Drosophila syncytial blastoderm embryo depends on pair-rule transcriptional regulators. mRNA transcripts of pair-rule genes localise to the apical cytoplasm of the blastoderm via a selective dynein-based transport system and signals within their 3'-untranslated regions. However, the functional and evolutionary significance of this process remains unknown. We have analysed subcellular localisation of mRNAs from multiple dipteran species both in situ and by injection into Drosophila embryos. We find that although localisation of wingless transcripts is conserved in Diptera, localisation of even-skipped and hairy pair-rule transcripts is evolutionarily labile and correlates with taxon-specific changes in positioning of nuclei. We show in Drosophila that localised pair-rule transcripts target their proteins in close proximity to the nuclei and increase the reliability of the segmentation process by augmenting gene activity. Our data suggest that mRNA localisation signals in pair-rule transcripts affect nuclear protein uptake and thereby adjust gene activity to a variety of dipteran blastoderm cytoarchitectures.
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