Mutations, overexpression, and rearrangements of MYC oncogene have been implicated in multiple cancers. This gene encodes a transcription factor that plays a role in cell cycle progression, apoptosis and cellular transformation. There is one orthologous gene in flies, Dmel\Myc, for which classical amorphic and hypomorphic alleles, RNAi-targeting constructs, and alleles caused by insertional mutagenesis have been generated. Dmel\Myc is a low-scoring ortholog of several other human genes, including MYCN and MYCL.
Several different variants of the human gene Hsap\MYC have been introduced into flies. Partial heterologous rescue (functional complementation) has been demonstrated.
Strong loss-of-function mutations of Dmel\Myc are lethal in the larval or pupal stages; weaker alleles that are partially viable are female sterile. Somatic clones of hypomorphic mutations exhibit increased cell death. A cancer model using a transgenic fly gene driven by a constitutive promoter also makes use of somatic clones to elucidate cellular phenotypes. Extensive genetic interactions for Dmel\Myc have been described; see in the gene report for Myc. Physical interactions for both the protein and mRNA of the fly gene have been described; see below and in the Myc gene report.
In work characterizing the role of human MYCN and DLG2 in the development of neuroblastoma, it was shown that overexpression of Dmel\Myc results in decreased expression of Dmel\dlg1 (see also FBhh0000678).
[updated Oct. 2021 by FlyBase; FBrf0222196]
Mutations, overexpression, rearrangement and translocation of MYC have been associated with a variety of hematopoietic tumors, leukemias and lymphomas, including Burkitt lymphoma. [from Gene Cards, MYC; 2016.09.30]
Overexpression of MYC has been implicated in multiple cancers; specific mutations of MYC have been implicated in Burkitt lymphoma (MIM:113970). [from MIM:190080; 2016.09.30]
MYC encodes a transcription factor that plays a role in cell cycle progression, apoptosis and cellular transformation. [from Gene Cards, MYC; 2016.09.30]
Many to one (3 human to 1 Drosophila); additional (lower-scoring) human orthologs are MYCN and MYCL.
Orthologous to human gene MYC (reciprocal best hit); lower scoring ortholog of human MYCN and MYCL (1 Drosophila to 3 human). Dmel\Myc shares 31% identity and 44% similarity with human MYC, within the carboxy extents of the two proteins.
