Studies of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein 1 (FMRP) in humans and its mouse and fly homologs have shown that its proper expression is important for proper development and behavior. Loss, or very low levels of FMRP expression, leads to Fragile X syndrome in humans and analogous behavioral and neuro-anatomical defects in mice and flies. Over-expression studies in the mouse and fly have identified behavioral and neuro-anatomical defects as well. In addition to the importance of proper steady state levels of FMRP, studies in the mice have shown that transient modulation of FMRP levels in response to synaptic activation are crucial for proper synaptic plasticity. Given the importance of the proper regulation of FMRP levels, very little is known about how the levels of this protein are regulated. Recently we discovered that expression of the fly homologue of FMRP, called dFMR1, is regulated by components of the siRNA pathway. Loss of the core members of this pathway (AGO2, R2D2 and Dicer-2) leads to significant upregulation of dFMR1 protein levels in the germline and nervous system that cause specific germ line and neuronal defects due to dFMR1 misregulation. Although recent studies have identified that there is a functioning endogenous siRNA pathway in flies, our results indicate that this pathway is not being used to regulate dFMR1 expression through its canonically defined mechanism. In fact we have found genes, involved in other small RNA pathways, but outside of the canonical siRNA pathway, that also regulate dFMR1 expression. In the first subaim we will screen a candidate set of genes that includes genes in the piRNA pathway, genes that act in multiple small RNA pathways as well as genes that interact with small RNA pathways for a role in regulating dfmr1 expression. In the second subaim we will define the dfmr1 cis-elements required for its regulation by the siRNA pathway members. In the third subaim we will define the basic mechanism by which the siRNA pathway components regulate dfmr1 expression. Results from these studies will more precisely define a novel regulatory pathway that controls dfmr1 expression, providing valuable information as to how this medically important gene is regulated.
The proper regulation of the Fragile X Mental Retardation is fundamentally important for normal cognition and the prevention of at least three human diseases (Fragile X mental retardation, FXTAS and premature ovarian failure). In this application we put forth experiments to further define and characterize a novel regulatory pathway that we have found to be important for the proper regulation dfmr1 expression and the prevention of ovarian and neuronal defects due to dfmr1 misexpression. These studies will provide a better understanding about how this medically important gene is regulated, as well as may identify other genes that lead to other human diseases due to FMR1 misregulation.
| Beerman, R W; Jongens, T A (2011) A non-canonical start codon in the Drosophila fragile X gene yields two functional isoforms. Neuroscience 181:48-66 |
| Bhogal, Balpreet; Jepson, James E; Savva, Yiannis A et al. (2011) Modulation of dADAR-dependent RNA editing by the Drosophila fragile X mental retardation protein. Nat Neurosci 14:1517-24 |
| Choi, Catherine H; McBride, Sean M J; Schoenfeld, Brian P et al. (2010) Age-dependent cognitive impairment in a Drosophila fragile X model and its pharmacological rescue. Biogerontology 11:347-62 |
| Kirino, Yohei; Vourekas, Anastassios; Kim, Namwoo et al. (2010) Arginine methylation of vasa protein is conserved across phyla. J Biol Chem 285:8148-54 |
| Pepper, Anita S-R; Beerman, Rebecca W; Bhogal, Balpreet et al. (2009) Argonaute2 suppresses Drosophila fragile X expression preventing neurogenesis and oogenesis defects. PLoS One 4:e7618 |
