We show here that mir-279/996 are absolutely essential for development and function of Johnston's organ (JO), the primary proprioceptive and auditory organ in Drosophila. Their deletion results in highly aberrant cell fate determination, including loss of scolopale cells and ectopic neurons, and mutants are electrophysiologically deaf. In vivo activity sensors and mosaic analyses indicate that these seed-related miRNAs function autonomously to suppress neural fate in nonneuronal cells. Finally, genetic interactions pinpoint two neural targets (elav and insensible) that underlie miRNA mutant JO phenotypes. This work uncovers how critical post-transcriptional regulation of specific miRNA targets governs cell specification and function of the auditory system.

中文翻译：

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非神经 miRNA 簇通过抑制两个神经靶标介导听力

我们在此表明​​，mir-279/996对于约翰斯顿器官 (JO) 的发育和功能绝对至关重要，约翰斯顿器官是果蝇的主要本体感觉和听觉器官。它们的缺失导致高度异常的细胞命运决定，包括蜈蚣细胞和异位神经元的损失，并且突变体在电生理学上失聪。体内活动传感器和嵌合分析表明，这些与种子相关的 miRNA 可以自主发挥作用，抑制非神经元细胞的神经命运。最后，遗传相互作用精确定位了miRNA 突变 JO 表型背后的两个神经靶点（ elav和insensible ）。这项工作揭示了特定 miRNA 靶标的关键转录后调控如何控制细胞规范和听觉系统的功能。