Lim, D.H., Oh, C.T., Lee, L., Hong, J.S., Noh, S.H., Hwang, S., Kim, S., Han, S.J., Lee, Y.S. (2011). The endogenous siRNA pathway in Drosophila impacts stress resistance and lifespan by regulating metabolic homeostasis. FEBS Lett. 585(19): 3079--3085.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0216303
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
Small non-coding RNAs regulate gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. In Drosophila, Dicer-2 (Dcr-2) functions in the biogenesis of endogenous small interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs). We identified 21 distinct proteins that exhibited a ≥ 1.5-fold change as a consequence of loss of dcr-2 function. Most of these were metabolic genes implicated in stress resistance and aging. dcr-2 Mutants had reduced lifespan and were hypersensitive to oxidative, endoplasmic reticulum, starvation, and cold stresses. Furthermore, loss of dcr-2 function led to abnormal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Our results suggest roles for the endo-siRNA pathway in metabolic regulation and defense against stress and aging in Drosophila.
