Single-cell transcriptomics of the <i>Drosophila</i> ring gland identifies the SoxN–Vvl complex as a key regulator of juvenile hormone biosynthesis
Abstract
Juvenile hormone (JH) is essential for maintaining juvenile status and promoting reproduction in insects, yet the transcriptional regulation of JH biosynthesis remains poorly understood. Previous transcriptomic studies of the Drosophila ring gland—which is composed of the corpus allatum (CA), prothoracic gland (PG), and corpora cardiaca (CC)—have treated the ring gland as a single tissue. As a result, these approaches lacked the resolution necessary to dissect JH biosynthesis and its regulation in a cell-type-specific manner. To overcome this limitation, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of 7,919 cells isolated from the larval ring glands. This analysis resolved distinct transcriptional profiles for the CA, PG, and CC, and enabled the identification of CA-specific transcription factors. Among them, SoxNeuro (SoxN), was found to be essential for JH biosynthesis and functionally important for both metamorphosis and reproduction. We further demonstrate that SoxN physically interacts with Ventral veins lacking (Vvl) to form a transcriptional complex that directly regulates Jhamt , a rate-limiting enzyme in JH biosynthesis, via a defined promoter region. Together, this work presents a single-cell transcriptomic atlas of the Drosophila ring gland and identifies the SoxN–Vvl complex as a critical regulator of JH biosynthesis, offering insight into the transcriptional control of insect endocrine function.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (14)
Yuhan Luo
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University
Nan Chen
National Engineering Research Center of Lower-Carbon Catalysis Technology, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics
Yue Gao
Wei Luo
Shanshan Liu
Yang Li
Hanyue Wang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University
Xiangbin Gao
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University
Jiawei Chen
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Intelligent Sensing and Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuits, Ministry of Education & Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plus, Department of Chemistry
Haosheng Ye
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Insect Development Regulation and Application Research, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University
Kirst King-Jones
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta
Subba Reddy Palli
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, University of Kentucky
Sheng Li
Suning Liu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University