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Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster
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The m6A pathway facilitates sex determination in Drosophila

Lijuan Kan1, Anya V Grozhik2, Jeffrey Vedanayagam1

  • 1Department of Developmental Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute, 1275 York Ave, Box 252, New York City, New York 10065, USA.

Nature Communications
|July 5, 2017
PubMed

Insights

The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification pathway in Drosophila regulates development and behavior. This study reveals m6A

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a conserved RNA modification impacting mRNA processing and function.
  • Understanding the in vivo roles of the m6A pathway is crucial for deciphering gene regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish and utilize a Drosophila system for investigating the m6A RNA modification pathway.
  • To elucidate the biological functions of m6A pathway components during Drosophila development.

Main Methods:

  • miCLIP (m6A-individual-nucleotide resolution crosslinking and immunoprecipitation) to map m6A sites.
  • Characterization of m6A 'writer' complexes and validation of YTH 'reader' proteins.
  • Generation and analysis of mutants in key m6A pathway factors.

Main Results:

  • m6A modification is mapped across Drosophila embryogenesis, revealing its dynamic regulation.
  • Viability of m6A-specific mutants with observed developmental and behavioral defects.
  • m6A pathway critically regulates Sex lethal (Sxl) splicing, impacting female development and survival.

Conclusions:

  • The Drosophila m6A pathway plays essential roles in development and behavior.
  • m6A directly impacts female-specific alternative splicing of Sxl, a key developmental regulator.
  • The established Drosophila toolkit enables further in vivo investigation of m6A functions.

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