The Alk receptor tyrosine kinase regulates Sparkly, a novel activity regulating neuropeptide precursor in theDrosophilaCNS

Abstract

Numerous roles for the Alk receptor tyrosine kinase have been described in Drosophila, including functions in the CNS, however the molecular details are poorly understood. To gain mechanistic insight, we employed Targeted DamID (TaDa) transcriptional profiling to identify targets of Alk signaling in the larval CNS. TaDa was employed in larval CNS tissues, while genetically manipulating Alk signaling output. The resulting TaDa data were analysed together with larval CNS scRNA-seq datasets performed under similar conditions, identifying a role for Alk in the transcriptional regulation of neuroendocrine gene expression. Further integration with bulk/scRNA-seq and protein datasets from larval brains in which Alk signaling was manipulated, identified a previously uncharacterized Drosophila neuropeptide precursor encoded by CG4577 as an Alk signaling transcriptional target. CG4577, which we named Sparkly (Spar), is expressed in a subset of Alk-positive neuroendocrine cells in the developing larval CNS, including circadian clock neurons. In agreement with our TaDa analysis, overexpression of the Drosophila Alk ligand Jeb resulted in increased levels of Spar protein in the larval CNS. We show that Spar protein is expressed in circadian (Clock) neurons, and Spar mutant flies exhibit defects in sleep and circadian rhythm control. In summary, we report a novel activity regulating neuropeptide precursor gene that is regulated by Alk signaling in the Drosophila CNS.

Neurotransmitter classification from electron microscopy images at synaptic sites in Drosophila melanogaster

“…Kenyon cells may also express the neuropeptide sparkly. 25 , 174 In addition, Ddc , which encodes a protein responsible for converting L-DOPA to dopamine, is expressed in and γ Kenyon cells, where it could play a role in the biosynthesis of dopamine or another aromatic L-amino acid. 21 Indeed, we did not include Kenyon cells in our ground truth data, because of this evidence for co-transmission.…”