Control of feeding by Piezo-mediated gut mechanosensation in .

Across animal species, meals are terminated after ingestion of large food volumes, yet underlying mechanosensory receptors have so far remained elusive. Here, we identify an essential role for Piezo in volume-based control of meal size. We discover a rare population of fly neurons that express Piezo, innervate the anterior gut and crop (a food reservoir organ), and respond to tissue distension in a Piezo-dependent manner.

miR-965 controls cell proliferation and migration during tissue morphogenesis in the Drosophila abdomen.

Formation of the Drosophila adult abdomen involves a process of tissue replacement in which larval epidermal cells are replaced by adult cells. The progenitors of the adult epidermis are specified during embryogenesis and, unlike the imaginal discs that make up the thoracic and head segments, they remain quiescent during larval development. During pupal development, the abdominal histoblast cells proliferate and migrate to replace the larval epidermis.

Systematic study of Drosophila microRNA functions using a collection of targeted knockout mutations.

MicroRNAs are abundant in animal genomes, yet little is known about their functions in vivo. Here, we report the production of 80 new Drosophila miRNA mutants by targeted homologous recombination. These mutants remove 104 miRNAs.

Coordination of insulin and Notch pathway activities by microRNA miR-305 mediates adaptive homeostasis in the intestinal stem cells of the Drosophila gut.

Homeostasis of the intestine is maintained by dynamic regulation of a pool of intestinal stem cells. The balance between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation is regulated by the Notch and insulin signaling pathways. Dependence on the insulin pathway places the stem cell pool under nutritional control, allowing gut homeostasis to adapt to environmental conditions.

miR-989 is required for border cell migration in the Drosophila ovary.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by destabilizing target transcripts and/or inhibiting their translation. miRNAs are thought to have roles in buffering gene expression to confer robustness. miRNAs have been shown to play important roles during tissue development to control cell proliferation, differentiation and morphogenesis.

MicroRNA transgene overexpression complements deficiency-based modifier screens in Drosophila.

Dosage-sensitive modifier screening is a powerful tool for linking genes to biological processes. Use of chromosomal deletions permits sampling the effects of removing groups of genes related by position on the chromosome. Here, we explore the use of inducible microRNA transgenes as a complement to deficiency-based modifier screens.