@misc{10481/106428,
year = {2025},
month = {8},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/106428},
abstract = {Proper gonad development is a pre-requisite for gametogenesis and reproduction.
During female gonad formation in Drosophila, the EGF receptor (EGFR) signalling pathway ensures the correct number of primordial germ cells (PGCs) populate
the larval gonad. We study the gene pointed (pnt), which acts downstream of the
EGFR receptor and belongs to the ETS transcription factor family, with a previously
unknown function in gonadogenesis. We report that pnt is expressed in female larval
gonads and later in the adult ovarian germline niche and that it is required to sustain
proper gametogenesis. Loss of pnt function in female larval gonads, similar to the
EGFR, induced PGC overproliferation. Conversely, we isolated a novel mutant allele
gene, termed pntaga, which resulted in agametic gonads and ovaries. While pntaga
embryos developed gonads containing a normal complement of PGCs, these are
subsequently lost by apoptosis during late larval and pupal stages. Molecular characterization of pntaga revealed reduced expression levels of the different pnt isoforms,
unveiling a complex autoregulatory network involving the three Pnt proteins. We propose that germline survival in Drosophila gonads requires a precise tuning of EGFR
signalling to ensure the appropriate transcriptional activation of its target pnt.},
organization = {MCUI/AEI (PID2021-125480 NB-I00, MDM2016-0687 and CEX2020-001088-M)},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía (grant number
P20_00888)},
publisher = {Plos One},
title = {ETS transcription factor pointed controls germline survival in Drosophila},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1011809},
author = {Rosales-Nieves, Alicia Elena and Marín-Menguiano, Miriam and López-Onieva, Lourdes and Garrido-Maraver, Juan and González Reyes, Acaimo},
}