Regulation of miR-184 gene expression in early Drosophila development

Abstract

In Drosophila melanogaster, the transcription factor Dorsal initiates dorsal-ventral (DV) patterning in the early embryo by activating or repressing genes, such as the transcription factors Twist and Snail, along the DV axis. Previous studies have shown that the microRNA gene miR-184 in the ventral portion of the embryos (the prospective mesoderm) at the early stages of Drosophila embryogenesis. In order to identify the tissue-specific enhancer that regulates miR-184 expression in the mesoderm, we generated transgenic fly lines and observed the expression of a reporter gene under the control of a potential cis-regulatory module (CRM). Our results show that this CRM is responsible for the regulation of miR-184 and furthermore, it is activated by Twist.