Germline-dependent gene expression in distant non-gonadal somatic tissues of <it>Drosophila</it>

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Drosophila </it>females commit tremendous resources to egg production and males produce some of the longest sperm in the animal kingdom. We know little about the coordinated regulation of gene expression patterns in d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang Yu, Malone John H, Jallon Jean-Marc, Warren James T, Sturgill David, Gupta Vaijayanti, Parisi Michael J, Gilbert Lawrence I, Oliver Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2010-06-01
Series:BMC Genomics
Online Access:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/11/346
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Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Drosophila </it>females commit tremendous resources to egg production and males produce some of the longest sperm in the animal kingdom. We know little about the coordinated regulation of gene expression patterns in distant somatic tissues that support the developmental cost of gamete production.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We determined the non-gonadal gene expression patterns of <it>Drosophila </it>females and males with or without a germline. Our results show that germline-dependent expression in the non-gonadal soma is extensive. Interestingly, gene expression patterns and hormone titers are consistent with a hormone axis between the gonads and non-gonadal soma.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The germline has a long-range influence on gene expression in the <it>Drosophila </it>sexes. We suggest that this is the result of a germline/soma hormonal axis.</p>
ISSN:1471-2164