Amnioserosa development and function in Drosophila embryogenesis: Critical mechanical roles for an extraembryonic tissue.

Despite being a short-lived, extraembryonic tissue, the amnioserosa plays critical roles in the major morphogenetic events of Drosophila embryogenesis. These roles involve both cellular mechanics and biochemical signaling. Its best-known role is in dorsal closure-well studied by both developmental biologists and biophysicists-but the amnioserosa is also important during earlier developmental stages. Here, we provide an overview of amnioserosa specification and its role in several key developmental stages: germ band extension, germ band retraction, and dorsal closure. We also compare embryonic development in Drosophila and its relative Megaselia to highlight how the amnioserosa and its roles have evolved. Placed in context, the amnioserosa provides a fascinating example of how signaling, mechanics, and morphogen patterns govern cell-type specification and subsequent morphogenetic changes in cell shape, orientation, and movement. Developmental Dynamics 245:558-568, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Enhancer of Rudimentary Homolog Affects the Replication Stress Response through Regulation of RNA Processing.

Accurate replication of DNA is imperative for the maintenance of genomic integrity. We identified Enhancer of Rudimentary Homolog (ERH) using a whole-genome RNA interference (RNAi) screen to discover novel proteins that function in the replication stress response. Here we report that ERH is important for DNA replication and recovery from replication stress. ATR pathway activity is diminished in ERH-deficient cells. The reduction in ATR signaling corresponds to a decrease in the expression of multiple ATR pathway genes, including ATR itself. ERH interacts with multiple RNA processing complexes, including splicing regulators. Furthermore, splicing of ATR transcripts is deficient in ERH-depleted cells. Transcriptome-wide analysis indicates that ERH depletion affects the levels of ∼1,500 transcripts, with DNA replication and repair genes being highly enriched among those with reduced expression. Splicing defects were evident in ∼750 protein-coding genes, which again were enriched for DNA metabolism genes. Thus, ERH regulation of RNA processing is needed to ensure faithful DNA replication and repair.