The Drosophila ortholog of breast cancer metastasis suppressor gene, dBrms1, is critical for developmental timing through regulating ecdysone signaling.

BRMS1 was first discovered as a human breast carcinoma metastasis suppressor gene. However, the mechanism of BRMS1 in tumor metastasis and its developmental role remain unclear. In this paper, we first report the identification of the Drosophila ortholog of human BRMS1, dBrms1. Through a genetic approach, the role of dBrms1 during development has been investigated. We found that dBrms1 is an essential gene and loss of dBrms1 function results in lethality at early developmental stages. dBrms1mutants displayed phenotypes such as developmental delay and failure to initiate metamorphosis. Further analysis suggests that these phenotypes are contributed by defective ecdysone signaling and expression of target genes of the ecdysone pathway. Therefore, dBrms1 is required for growth control by acting as a modulator of ecdysone signaling in Drosophila and is required for metamorphosis for normal development.

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