miR-927 regulates insect wing development by targeting the Hippo pathway

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Organ size determination is a fundamental biological question.
• The Hippo pathway is a key regulator of organ size, controlling cell proliferation and apoptosis.
• Post-translational modifications critically regulate Hippo pathway activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel regulators of organ size.
• To investigate the role of microRNAs in the Hippo pathway.
• To explore potential pest management strategies targeting insect development.

Main Methods:

• Overexpression and knockdown studies of miR-927 in Drosophila.
• Analysis of apoptosis and gene expression (Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1).
• Genetic epistatic analyses and 3' UTR target validation for Yorkie (Yki).
• Conservation studies in Helicoverpa armigera and nanocarrier-mediated delivery.

Main Results:

• Overexpression of miR-927 reduced wing size, which was rescued by miR-927 sponge.
• miR-927 promotes apoptosis and suppresses Drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1.
• miR-927 acts upstream of Yorkie (Yki) by directly targeting the yki 3' UTR.
• The miR-927-Yki regulatory axis is conserved in Helicoverpa armigera, with miR-927 inhibiting wing development.

Conclusions:

• miR-927 is a novel regulator of organ size by modulating the Hippo pathway through post-transcriptional silencing of Yki.
• This mechanism is conserved across species and has implications for insect pest control.
• miR-927 delivered via nanocarriers presents a promising approach for managing insect pests like Helicoverpa armigera.