In Drosophila, sumoylation plays a critical role in maintenance of larval hematopoietic stem cells in an undifferentiated state. This system has been used to investigate the impact of compromised sumoylation in the development of hematologic cancers. Sumoylation also plays a role in regulating the systemic inflammation response in Drosophila, making this system useful for investigating links between cancer and inflammation.
Mutations that reduce sumoylation result in a failure of larval hematopoietic progenitors to acquire or maintain quiescence; progenitors become hyperplastic, misdifferentiate, and develop into microtumors that eventually detach from the dorsal vessel. Mutations of the Drosophila gene lwr, also known as Ubc9, have been used most extensively; lwr is orthologous to human UBE2I, a SUMO-conjugating enzyme.
Other genes used in these studies include Aos1 (orthologous to human SAE1, a SUMO-activating enzyme), Uba2 (orthologous to human UBA2, a SUMO-activating enzyme), and Su(var)2-10 (orthologous to human PIAS genes, SUMO ligases).
[updated Jul. 2020 by FlyBase; FBrf0222196]
In Drosophila third instar larval lymph glands, a group of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells acquires quiescence; a multicellular niche supports their undifferentiated state. Mutations that reduce sumoylation result in a failure of progenitors to acquire or maintain quiescence; progenitors become hyperplastic, misdifferentiate, and develop into microtumors that eventually detach from the dorsal vessel (FBrf0220167).
SUMOylation is a reversible post-translational modification which has emerged as a crucial molecular regulatory mechanism, involved in the regulation of DNA damage repair, immune responses, carcinogenesis, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. SUMO molecules are highly conserved in evolution, widely found in protozoa, metazoan, plants and fungi (Han et al, 2018; pubmed:29484374).
SUMO protein is a type of protein which is similar to ubiquitin in molecular structure. However, the amino sequence and surface charge distribution of SUMO differ from those of ubiquitin, and they have different functions (Han et al, 2018; pubmed:29484374).
Moderate- to high-scoring ortholog of human PIAS1, PIAS2, PIAS3, and PIAS4 (1 Drosophila to 4 human).
High-scoring ortholog of human UBE2I (1 Drosophila to 1 human).
High-scoring ortholog of human SAE1 (1 Drosophila to 1 human).
High-scoring ortholog of human UBA2 (1 Drosophila to 1 human).