Puckered and JNK signaling in pioneer neurons coordinates the motor activity of the Drosophila embryo

Katerina Karkali (), Samuel W. Vernon, Richard A. Baines, George Panayotou and Enrique Martín-Blanco ()
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Katerina Karkali: Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri Reixac 10-12
Samuel W. Vernon: University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
Richard A. Baines: University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
George Panayotou: BSRC “Alexander Fleming”
Enrique Martín-Blanco: Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Baldiri Reixac 10-12

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Central nervous system organogenesis is a complex process that obeys precise architectural rules. The impact that nervous system architecture may have on its functionality remains, however, relatively unexplored. To clarify this problem, we analyze the development of the Drosophila embryonic Ventral Nerve Cord (VNC). VNC morphogenesis requires the tight control of Jun kinase (JNK) signaling in a subset of pioneer neurons, exerted in part via a negative feedback loop mediated by the dual specificity phosphatase Puckered. Here we show that the JNK pathway autonomously regulates neuronal electrophysiological properties without affecting synaptic vesicle transport. Manipulating JNK signaling activity in pioneer neurons during early embryogenesis directly influences their function as organizers of VNC architecture and, moreover, uncovers a role in the coordination of the embryonic motor circuitry that is required for hatching. Together, our data reveal critical links, mediated by the control of the JNK signaling cascade by Puckered, between the structural organization of the VNC and its functional optimization.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43783-1

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