Affiliations: 1) Metropolitan State University, Denver, CO, USA; 2) Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA; 3) RNA BioScience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
Keywords: r. other (Maternal to Zygotic Transition ); b. oogenesis
The maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) is an essential process during early animal embryogenesis where developmental control shifts from maternally deposited gene products to a newly made zyogtic one. Although the MZT typically considered from the perspective of RNA, we and others have found that maternal protein clearance is a key part of this transition. As part of a multi-year undergraduate research project, we are performing an RNAi screen to identify E2s and E3s required for oogenesis and embryogenesis. This RNAi screen consists of expressing RNAi constructs using an ovary-specific UAS driver and of quantifying various phenotypes from these female flies (including egg laying, egg viability, and other phenotypes). Here, we will describe the results for ten randomly selected genes: skp2, cul-1, Elo-C, Gus, SAK, CSN5, cul-2, skpA, UBC-4, and UBC-D6[BC1] . Preliminary results indicate that knock down of cul-1 resulted in lethality for a majority of embryos. Because Cul-1 is a component of the SCF E3 complex and the SCF complex regulates cell cycle progression and the removal the Smaug RNA binding protein, this result is consistent with Cul-1 performing an essential role during embryogenesis, but not oogenesis. Interestingly, embryos with UBC-4 depletion showed a developmental delay in pupae eclosation, although the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Together, these results demonstrate the potential of this screen to provide a foundation for future research on protein clearance during the MZT.