Open AccessAge‐associated de‐repression of retrotransposons in the Drosophila fat body, its potential cause and consequence
Author(s) -
Chen Haiyang,
Zheng Xiaobin,
Xiao Danqing,
Zheng Yixian
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
aging cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1474-9726
pISSN - 1474-9718
DOI - 10.1111/acel.12465
Subject(s) - retrotransposon , biology , heterochromatin , lamin , transposable element , genetics , psychological repression , constitutive heterochromatin , chromatin , long terminal repeat , microbiology and biotechnology , genome , drosophila melanogaster , genome instability , dna , dna damage , gene , gene expression
Summary Eukaryotic genomes contain transposable elements ( TE ) that can move into new locations upon activation. Since uncontrolled transposition of TE s, including the retrotransposons and DNA transposons, can lead to DNA breaks and genomic instability, multiple mechanisms, including heterochromatin‐mediated repression, have evolved to repress TE activation. Studies in model organisms have shown that TE s become activated upon aging as a result of age‐associated deregulation of heterochromatin. Considering that different organisms or cell types may undergo distinct heterochromatin changes upon aging, it is important to identify pathways that lead to TE activation in specific tissues and cell types. Through deep sequencing of isolated RNA s, we report an increased expression of many retrotransposons in the old Drosophila fat body, an organ equivalent to the mammalian liver and adipose tissue. This de‐repression correlates with an increased number of DNA damage foci and decreased level of Drosophila lamin‐B in the old fat body cells. Depletion of the Drosophila lamin‐B in the young or larval fat body results in a reduction of heterochromatin and a corresponding increase in retrotransposon expression and DNA damage. Further manipulations of lamin‐B and retrotransposon expression suggest a role of the nuclear lamina in maintaining the genome integrity of the Drosophila fat body by repressing retrotransposons.