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Myc interacts genetically with Tip48/Reptin and Tip49/Pontin to control growth and proliferation during Drosophila

Paola Bellosta1, Toby Hulf, Soda Balla Diop

  • 1Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 10, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Drosophila dMyc, a regulator of growth, interacts with cofactors Reptin and Pontin. These interactions are crucial for tissue growth and development, with dMyc:Pontin complexes repressing specific genes.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • dMyc is the Drosophila ortholog of vertebrate c-myc proto-oncogenes.
  • dMyc regulates growth and cell-cycle progression during development.
  • Tip48/Reptin (Rept) and Tip49/Pontin (Pont) are putative transcriptional cofactors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the molecular basis of dMyc function.
  • To analyze the interaction between dMyc, Rept, and Pont.
  • To understand the role of these interactions in Drosophila development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of protein interactions between dMyc, Rept, and Pont.
  • In vivo studies using mitotic clones mutant for dmyc, pont, or rept.
  • Genetic interaction studies between dmyc and pont.

Main Results:

  • Rept and Pont bind to Myc across evolution.
  • dmyc, pont, and rept are essential for tissue growth, with mutants exhibiting cell competition.
  • A strong dominant genetic interaction between pont and dmyc affects development duration, survival rates, and animal size, particularly the eye.
  • dMyc:Pont complexes repress target genes like mfas.

Conclusions:

  • dMyc interacts with transcriptional cofactors Rept and Pont.
  • These interactions are conserved and essential for tissue growth and development in Drosophila.
  • dMyc:Pont complexes play a critical role in regulating cellular growth and proliferation.

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