Figure 2.

miR-278 mutants are lean. (A) Average body weight of miR-278 mutant and control flies. Batches of 40 2-d-old males were assayed; experiment was done in quadruplicate. (B) Northern blot showing expression of miR-278 at different developmental stages. Loading control indicates the same filter probed to detect valine tRNA. (Bottom) Northern blot showing miR-278 expression in tissues dissected from third instar larvae. The amount of total RNA in each sample is indicted below. (C) Promoter GAL4 fusion driving GFP shows predominant fat body expression and weak body wall expression. (D) Total body triglycerides and total body protein were measured after controlled growth and aging. Plotted values are triglyceride levels normalized to protein levels. Batches of eight males were assayed; the experiment was done in triplicate. (E) Total body triglycerides normalized to total body protein for 8-d-old flies of the indicated genotypes. Batches of eight males were assayed; the experiment was done in triplicate. The low body fat level of the mutant was rescued by expression of UAS-miR-278 under control of miR-278-Gal4, which expresses Gal4 under control of the endogenous miR-278 regulatory elements.