A Systematic Phenotypic Screen of F-box Genes Through a Tissue-specific RNAi-based Approach in Drosophila

F-box proteins are components of the SCF （SkpA-Cullin 1-F-box） E3 ligase complexes, acting as the specificity-determinants in targeting substrate proteins for ubiquitination and degradation. In humans, at least 22 out of 75 F-box proteins have experimentally documented substrates, whereas in Drosophila 12 F-box proteins have been characterized with known substrates. To systematically investigate the genetic and molecular functions of F-box proteins in Drosophila, we performed a survey of the literature and databases. We identified 45 Drosophila genes that encode proteins containing at least one F-box domain. We collected publically available RNAi lines against these genes and used them in a tissue-specific RNAi-based phenotypic screen. Here, we present our systematic phenotypic dataset from the eye, the wing and the notum. This dataset is the first of its kind and represents a useful resource for future studies of the molecular and genetic functions of F-box genes in Drosophila. Our results show that, as expected, F-box genes in Drosophila have regulatory roles in a diverse array of processes including cell proliferation, cell growth, signal transduction, and cellular and animal survival.

Roles of small RNAs in crop disease resistance

Small RNAs(sRNAs)are a class of short,non-coding regulatory RNAs that have emerged as critical components of defense regulatory networks across plant kingdoms.Many sRNA-based technologies,such as host-induced gene silencing(HIGS),spray-induced gene silencing(SIGS),virus-induced gene silencing(VIGS),artificial microRNA(amiRNA)and synthetic trans-acting siRNA(syn-tasiRNA)-mediated RNA interference(RNAi),have been developed as disease control strategies in both monocot and dicot plants,particularly in crops.This review aims to highlight our current understanding of the roles of sRNAs including miRNAs,heterochromatic siRNAs(hc-siRNAs),phased,secondary siRNAs(phasiRNAs)and natural antisense siRNAs(nat-siRNAs)in disease resistance,and sRNAs-mediated trade-offs between defense and growth in crops.In particular,we focus on the diverse functions of sRNAs in defense responses to bacterial and fungal pathogens,oomycete and virus in crops.Further,we highlight the application of sRNA-based technologies in protecting crops from pathogens.Further research perspectives are proposed to develop new sRNAs-based efficient strategies to breed non-genetically modified(GMO),diseasetolerant crops for sustainable agriculture.