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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 10, 2008, 28(37):9145-9150; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1882-08.2008

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Brief Communications
Chip Is Required for Posteclosion Behavior in Drosophila

Padmanabhan Hari,¹ Mugdha Deshpande,¹ Neha Sharma,¹ Neha Rajadhyaksha,¹ Nitya Ramkumar,¹ Ken-ichi Kimura,² Veronica Rodrigues,¹ and Shubha Tole¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005, India, and ²Laboratory of Biology, Hokkaido University of Education, Iwamizawa 068-8642, Japan

Correspondence should be addressed to either Veronica Rodrigues or Shubha Tole at the above address. Email: veronica{at}tifr.res.in or Email: stole{at}tifr.res.in

Neurons acquire their molecular, neurochemical, and connectional features during development as a result of complex regulatory mechanisms. Here, we show that a ubiquitous, multifunctional protein cofactor, Chip, plays a critical role in a set of neurons in Drosophila that control the well described posteclosion behavior. Newly eclosed flies normally expand their wings and display tanning and hardening of their cuticle. Using multiple approaches to interfere with Chip function, we find that these processes do not occur without normal activity of this protein. Furthermore, we identified the nature of the deficit to be an absence of Bursicon in the hemolymph of newly eclosed flies, whereas the responsivity to Bursicon in these flies remains normal. Chip interacts with transcription factors of the LIM-HD (LIM-homeodomain) family, and we identified one member, dIslet, as a potential partner of Chip in this process. Our findings provide the first evidence of transcriptional mechanisms involved in the development of the neuronal circuit that regulates posteclosion behavior in Drosophila.

Key words: LIM; wing expansion; Bursicon; behavior; neuroendocrine; neurosecretion

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Received April 29, 2008; revised Aug. 2, 2008; accepted Aug. 6, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to either Veronica Rodrigues or Shubha Tole at the above address. Email: veronica{at}tifr.res.in or Email: stole{at}tifr.res.in

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