The Function of Lipin in the Wing Development of Drosophila melanogaster.

Lipin is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to mammals. Although its roles in lipid metabolism in adipocyte tissue, skeletal muscle, and the liver, and as a transcriptional co-activator are known, its functions during development are still under investigation. In this study, we analyzed the role of Drosophila lipin (dLipin) in development. Specifically, we showed that the tissue-selective knockdown of dLipin in the wing pouch led to an atrophied wing. Elevated DNA damage was observed in the wing imaginal disc of dLipin-knockdown flies. dLipin dysfunction induced accumulation of cells in S phase and significantly reduced the number of mitotic cells, indicating DNA damage-induced activation of the G2/M checkpoint. Reduced expression of cyclin B, which is critical for the G2 to M transition, was observed in the margin of the wing imaginal disc of dLipin-knockdown flies. The knockdown of dLipin led to increased apoptotic cell death in the wing imaginal disc. Thus, our results suggest that dLipin is involved in DNA replication during normal cell cycle progression in wing development of Drosophila melanogaster.

Drosophila model for studying the link between lipid metabolism and development.

Developmental processes are cascades of biological changes linked with information transfer, growth, and differentiation during the life cycle of an organism. Lipid metabolism plays a vital role in the life cycle of organisms. Drosophila models grant numerous advantages in investigating the underlying mechanisms of each process as well as their connections. In each section of this review, we will discuss multiple studies revealing the function of lipid-related genes in different stages of early development: spermatogenesis, oogenesis, embryogenesis along with late development in life cycle of Drosophila.