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. 2024 Apr 25;20(4):e1011237. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011237

Fig 4. miR-14 functions in epidermal cells to control dendrite position.

Fig 4

(A-B) miR-14-GAL4 is highly expressed in the epidermis with the exception of apodemes, where expression is largely absent. (A) Maximum intensity projection shows miR-14-GAL4, UAS-tdTomato expression in the body wall of third instar larvae additionally expressing NrgGFP to label epidermal junctions. Dashed lines mark apodemes, asterisks mark cells lacking detectable miR-14-GAL4 expression and arrowheads mark lowly expressing cells. (B) Stacked bars depict the proportion of epidermal cells (n = 725 cells) and apodemes (n = 149 cells) with the indicated levels of miR-14-GAL4 expression. *P<0.05, Chi-square test. (C-E) miR-14 activity mirrors miR-14-GAL4 expression patterns. Maximum intensity projections depicting (C) control or (D) miR-14 activity sensor in larvae additionally expressing sr-GAL4, UAS-mCD8-RFP to label apodemes are shown (left) along with lookup tables depicting miRNA sensor intensity (right). Insets show miRNA sensor design and dashed lines outline apodemes. (E) miR-14 sensor expression, which is inversely related to miR-14 activity, is attenuated throughout the epidermis with the exception of apodemes. NS, not significant, *P<0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test. (F) miR-14 is dispensable in C4da neurons for dendrite morphogenesis. Total dendrite length and the number of dendrite crossings in miR-14 or drosha mutant C4da MARCM clones are indistinguishable from wild-type controls. NS, not significant, Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test. (G) Epidermal miR-14 function is required for proper dendrite positioning. Dendrite crossing frequency is shown for larvae expressing control or miR-14 sponge transgenes using the indicated GAL4 drivers. *P<0.05, ANOVA with post-hoc Sidak’s test. (H) Epidermal miR-14 expression is sufficient to support proper dendrite positioning. Dendrite crossing frequency is shown for miR-14 mutant larvae expressing UAS-miR-14 under control of the indicated GAL4 drivers. NS, not significant, *P<0.05, ANOVA with post-hoc Sidak’s test.