Drosophila Erect wing (Ewg) controls mitochondrial fusion during muscle growth and maintenance by regulation of the Opa1-like gene.
Mitochondrial biogenesis and morphological changes are associated with tissue-specific functional demand, but the factors and pathways that regulate these processes have not been completely identified. A lack of mitochondrial fusion has been implicated in various developmental and pathological defects. The spatiotemporal regulation of mitochondrial fusion in a tissue such as muscle is not well understood. Here, we show in Drosophila indirect flight muscles (IFMs) that the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial inner membrane fusion gene, Opa1-like, is regulated in a spatiotemporal fashion by the transcription factor/co-activator Erect wing (Ewg). In IFMs null for Ewg, mitochondria undergo mitophagy and/or autophagy accompanied by reduced mitochondrial functioning and muscle degeneration. By following the dynamics of mitochondrial growth and shape in IFMs, we found that mitochondria grow extensively and fuse during late pupal development to form the large tubular mitochondria. Our evidence shows that Ewg expression during early IFM development is sufficient to upregulate Opa1-like, which itself is a requisite for both late pupal mitochondrial fusion and muscle maintenance. Concomitantly, by knocking down Opa1-like during early muscle development, we show that it is important for mitochondrial fusion, muscle differentiation and muscle organization. However, knocking down Opa1-like, after the expression window of Ewg did not cause mitochondrial or muscle defects. This study identifies a mechanism by which mitochondrial fusion is regulated spatiotemporally by Ewg through Opa1-like during IFM differentiation and growth.
['Rai|Mamta|M|', 'Katti|Prasanna|P|', 'Nongthomba|Upendra|U|']
D000818:Animals D029721:Drosophila Proteins D004331:Drosophila melanogaster D005426:Flight, Animal D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental D008565:Membrane Proteins D008928:Mitochondria D063154:Mitochondrial Dynamics D009024:Morphogenesis D009132:Muscles D009479:Neuropeptides D011679:Pupa D015398:Signal Transduction D014157:Transcription Factors
Erect wing Mitochondrial fusion Opa1-like Indirect flight muscle Drosophila melanogaster