Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) proteins are important epigenetic regulators that play a key role in development and are frequently deregulated in cancer.
Drosophila melanogaster
has a single homologous Tet gene (
dTet
) that is highly expressed in the central nervous system during development. Here, we examined the expression pattern of dTet in the third instar larval CNS and discovered its presence in a specific set of glia cells: midline glia (MG). Moreover, dTet knockdown resulted in significant lethality, locomotor dysfunction, and alterations in axon patterning in the larval ventral nerve cord. Molecular analyses on
dTet
knockdown larvae showed a downregulation in genes involved in axon guidance and reduced expression of the axon guidance cue Slit. Our findings point toward a potential role for dTet in midline glial function, specifically the regulation of axon patterning during neurodevelopment.
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