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Updated: Jan 10, 2026
Enhanced Northern Blot Detection of Small RNA Species in Drosophila Melanogaster
Published on: August 21, 2014
Regulation of miR-219 and its target RalGPS dictates acute synaptic plasticity at the Drosophila neuromuscular
Kumar Aavula1, Hansine Heggeness1, Takakazu Yokokura1
1Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
RNA regulatory mechanisms mediate adaptive responses requiring rapid gene expression changes. Examining microRNA (miRNA)-mediated control of structural synaptic plasticity, we identified miR-219 and six other conserved miRNAs regulating activity-induced morphogenesis at Drosophila glutamatergic synapses. Among miRNA targets downregulated by acute stimulation, the Ral-activating factor RalGPS is necessary for presynaptic morphogenesis and sufficient to block plasticity. Stimulation elevates miR-219 loading into Argonaute complexes without altering mature miR-219 levels, revealing a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism. We conclude that activity-induced miRNA loading modulates Ral signaling via RalGPS to enable presynaptic remodeling and growth, establishing a novel link between neuronal activity and synaptic structural plasticity.
