The microRNA miR-7 is perfectly conserved from annelids to humans, and yet some of the genes that it regulates in Drosophila are not regulated in mammals. We have explored the role of lineage restricted targets, using Drosophila, in order to better understand the evolutionary significance of microRNA-target relationships. From studies of two well characterized developmental regulatory networks, we find that miR-7 functions in several interlocking feedback and feedforward loops, and propose that its role in these networks is to buffer them against perturbation. To directly demonstrate this function for miR-7, we subjected the networks to temperature fluctuation and found that miR-7 is essential for the maintenance of regulatory stability under conditions of environmental flux. We suggest that some conserved microRNAs like miR-7 may enter into novel genetic relationships to buffer developmental programs against variation and impart robustness to diverse regulatory networks.

The Golgi apparatus is composed of biochemically distinct early (cis, medial) and late (trans, TGN) cisternae. There is debate about the nature of these cisternae. The stable compartments model predicts that each cisterna is a long-lived structure that retains a characteristic set of Golgi-resident proteins. In this view, secretory cargo proteins are transported by vesicles from one cisterna to the next. The cisternal maturation model predicts that each cisterna is a transient structure that matures from early to late by acquiring and then losing specific Golgi-resident proteins. In this view, secretory cargo proteins traverse the Golgi by remaining within the maturing cisternae. Various observations have been interpreted as supporting one or the other mechanism. Here we provide a direct test of the two models using three-dimensional time-lapse fluorescence microscopy of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This approach reveals that individual cisternae mature, and do so at a consistent rate. In parallel, we used pulse-chase analysis to measure the transport of two secretory cargo proteins. The rate of cisternal maturation matches the rate of protein transport through the secretory pathway, suggesting that cisternal maturation can account for the kinetics of secretory traffic.

Transitional ER (tER) sites are ER subdomains that are functionally, biochemically and morphologically distinct from the surrounding rough ER. Here we have used confocal video microscopy to study the dynamics of tER sites and Golgi structures in the budding yeast Pichia pastoris. The biogenesis of tER sites is tightly linked to the biogenesis of Golgi, and both compartments can apparently form de novo. tER sites often fuse with one another, but they maintain a consistent average size through shrinkage after fusion and growth after de novo formation. Golgi dynamics are similar, although late Golgi elements often move away from tER sites towards regions of polarized growth. Our results can be explained by assuming that tER sites give rise to Golgi cisternae that continually mature.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Golgi elements are present in the bud very early in the cell cycle. We have analyzed this Golgi inheritance process using fluorescence microscopy and genetics. In rapidly growing cells, late Golgi elements show an actin-dependent concentration at sites of polarized growth. Late Golgi elements are apparently transported into the bud along actin cables and are also retained in the bud by a mechanism that may involve actin. A visual screen for mutants defective in the inheritance of late Golgi elements yielded multiple alleles of CDC1. Mutations in CDC1 severely depolarize the actin cytoskeleton, and these mutations prevent late Golgi elements from being retained in the bud. The efficient localization of late Golgi elements to the bud requires the type V myosin Myo2p, further suggesting that actin plays a role in Golgi inheritance. Surprisingly, early and late Golgi elements are inherited by different pathways, with early Golgi elements localizing to the bud in a Cdc1p- and Myo2p-independent manner. We propose that early Golgi elements arise from ER membranes that are present in the bud. These two pathways of Golgi inheritance in S. cerevisiae resemble Golgi inheritance pathways in vertebrate cells.

While course-based research in genomics can generate both knowledge gains and a greater appreciation for how science is done, a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. Nonetheless, this is a very cost-effective way to reach larger numbers of students.