Drosophila TRF2 and TAF9 regulate lipid droplet size and phospholipid fatty acid composition

Wei Fan; Sin Man Lam; Jingxue Xin; Xiao Yang; Zhonghua Liu; Yuan Liu; Yong Wang; Guanghou Shui; Xun Huang

doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1006664

Drosophila TRF2 and TAF9 regulate lipid droplet size and phospholipid fatty acid composition

PLoS Genet. 2017 Mar 8;13(3):e1006664. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006664. eCollection 2017 Mar.

Authors

Wei Fan^{1

2}, Sin Man Lam¹, Jingxue Xin^{2

3}, Xiao Yang^{1

2}, Zhonghua Liu¹, Yuan Liu^{1

2}, Yong Wang³, Guanghou Shui¹, Xun Huang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, National Center for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

The general transcription factor TBP (TATA-box binding protein) and its associated factors (TAFs) together form the TFIID complex, which directs transcription initiation. Through RNAi and mutant analysis, we identified a specific TBP family protein, TRF2, and a set of TAFs that regulate lipid droplet (LD) size in the Drosophila larval fat body. Among the three Drosophila TBP genes, trf2, tbp and trf1, only loss of function of trf2 results in increased LD size. Moreover, TRF2 and TAF9 regulate fatty acid composition of several classes of phospholipids. Through RNA profiling, we found that TRF2 and TAF9 affects the transcription of a common set of genes, including peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation-related genes that affect phospholipid fatty acid composition. We also found that knockdown of several TRF2 and TAF9 target genes results in large LDs, a phenotype which is similar to that of trf2 mutants. Together, these findings provide new insights into the specific role of the general transcription machinery in lipid homeostasis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alleles
Amino Acid Motifs
Animals
Drosophila / genetics*
Drosophila / metabolism
Drosophila Proteins / metabolism*
Fatty Acids / chemistry*
Homeostasis
Lipids / chemistry*
Mutation
Oxygen / chemistry
Peroxisomes / chemistry
Phenotype
Phospholipids / chemistry
RNA Interference
Sequence Analysis, RNA
TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors / metabolism*
Telomeric Repeat Binding Protein 2 / metabolism*
Transcription Factor TFIID / chemistry
Transcription Factor TFIID / metabolism*

Substances

Drosophila Proteins
Fatty Acids
Lipids
Phospholipids
TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors
TRF2 protein, Drosophila
Telomeric Repeat Binding Protein 2
Transcription Factor TFIID
e(y)1 protein, Drosophila
Oxygen

Grants and funding

Research reported here was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB13030300/0400), the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB530606 and 2016YFA0500100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11422108, 31325018, 31571377 and 31630019). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.