Guy1, a Y-linked embryonic signal, regulates dosage compensation in Anopheles stephensi by increasing X gene expression
- Virginia Tech, United States
- Southern Medical University, China
- Virginia Biocomplexity Institute, United States
Abstract
We previously showed that Guy1, a primary signal expressed from the Y chromosome, is a strong candidate for a male-determining factor that confers female-specific lethality in Anopheles stephensi (Criscione et al., 2016). Here we present evidence that Guy1 increases X gene expression in Guy1-transgenic females from two independent lines, providing a mechanism underlying the Guy1-conferred female lethality. The median level gene expression (MGE) of X-linked genes is significantly higher than autosomal genes in Guy1-transgenic females while there is no significant difference in MGE between X and autosomal genes in wild type females. Furthermore, Guy1 significantly up-regulates at least 40% of the 996 genes across the X chromosome in transgenic females. Guy1-conferred female-specific lethality is remarkably stable and completely penetrant. These findings indicate that Guy1 regulates dosage compensation in An. stephensi and components of dosage compensation may be explored to develop novel strategies to control mosquito-borne diseases.
Data availability
Data submitted to SRA, PRJNA503140 : The transcriptome of Guy1-transgenic Anopheles stephensi L1 instar (TaxID: 30069)
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The transcriptome of Guy1-transgenic Anopheles stephensi L1 instarNCBI Bioproject, PRJNA503140.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (AI105575)
- Zhijian Jake Tu
National Institutes of Health (AI121284)
- Zhijian Jake Tu
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Yukiko M Yamashita, University of Michigan, United States
Ethics
Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All of the animals were handled according to approved institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) protocols (IACUC #16-067) of the Virginia Tech.
Version history
- Received: November 16, 2018
- Accepted: March 16, 2019
- Accepted Manuscript published: March 19, 2019 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: March 29, 2019 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2019, Qi et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Guy1, a Y-linked embryonic signal, regulates dosage compensation in Anopheles stephensi by increasing X gene expression
eLife 8:e43570.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.43570
Further reading
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Despite rapid evolution across eutherian mammals, the X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs are located in a region flanked by two highly conserved protein-coding genes (SLITRK2 and FMR1) on the X chromosome. Intriguingly, these miRNAs are predominantly expressed in the testis, suggesting a potential role in spermatogenesis and male fertility. Here, we report that the X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs were derived from the MER91C DNA transposons. Selective inactivation of individual miRNAs or clusters caused no discernible defects, but simultaneous ablation of five clusters containing 19 members of the MIR-506 family led to reduced male fertility in mice. Despite normal sperm counts, motility, and morphology, the KO sperm were less competitive than wild-type sperm when subjected to a polyandrous mating scheme. Transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses revealed that these X-linked MIR-506 family miRNAs, in addition to targeting a set of conserved genes, have more targets that are critical for spermatogenesis and embryonic development during evolution. Our data suggest that the MIR-506 family miRNAs function to enhance sperm competitiveness and reproductive fitness of the male by finetuning gene expression during spermatogenesis.
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- Developmental Biology
We previously showed that SerpinE2 and the serine protease HtrA1 modulate fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling in germ layer specification and head-to-tail development of Xenopus embryos. Here, we present an extracellular proteolytic mechanism involving this serpin-protease system in the developing neural crest (NC). Knockdown of SerpinE2 by injected antisense morpholino oligonucleotides did not affect the specification of NC progenitors but instead inhibited the migration of NC cells, causing defects in dorsal fin, melanocyte, and craniofacial cartilage formation. Similarly, overexpression of the HtrA1 protease impaired NC cell migration and the formation of NC-derived structures. The phenotype of SerpinE2 knockdown was overcome by concomitant downregulation of HtrA1, indicating that SerpinE2 stimulates NC migration by inhibiting endogenous HtrA1 activity. SerpinE2 binds to HtrA1, and the HtrA1 protease triggers degradation of the cell surface proteoglycan Syndecan-4 (Sdc4). Microinjection of Sdc4 mRNA partially rescued NC migration defects induced by both HtrA1 upregulation and SerpinE2 downregulation. These epistatic experiments suggest a proteolytic pathway by a double inhibition mechanism:
SerpinE2 ┤HtrA1 protease ┤Syndecan-4 → NC cell migration.
