Cyclin G and the Polycomb Repressive complexes PRC1 and PR-DUB cooperate for developmental stability

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Ubiquitous expression of a short Cyclin G isoform in Drosophila causes significant developmental noise, measured by fluctuating asymmetry (FA).
• Cyclin G is a transcriptional cyclin that interacts with chromatin regulators, including Enhancer of Trithorax and Polycomb (ETP) and Polycomb families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of Cyclin G interactions with chromatin regulators in maintaining developmental stability.
• To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying Cyclin G-induced developmental noise.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of developmental noise using fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in Drosophila.
• Investigating Cyclin G interactions with ETP and Polycomb group proteins.
• Deep-sequencing of wing imaginal discs to identify gene expression changes.
• Assessing the overlap of Cyclin G, PRC1, and RNAPolII transcriptional targets.

Main Results:

• Deregulation of Cyclin G reveals intrinsic control of developmental noise, linked to its ETP-interacting domain.
• Mutations in Polycomb Repressive complexes (PRC1 and PR-DUB) enhance Cyclin G-induced developmental noise.
• High developmental noise correlates with increased translation-related gene expression and decreased energy production gene expression.
• Cyclin G, PRC1, and RNAPolII share many direct transcriptional targets in developing wings.

Conclusions:

• Cyclin G plays a crucial role in maintaining developmental stability in Drosophila.
• Cyclin G, PRC1, and PR-DUB cooperate to ensure developmental stability.
• The findings provide insights into the molecular basis of developmental noise and stability.