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Resilin Matrix Distribution, Variability and Function in Drosophila Lerch et al. BMC Biology (2020) 18:195 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-020-00902-4 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Resilin matrix distribution, variability and function in Drosophila Steven Lerch1,2,3, Renata Zuber1, Nicole Gehring2, Yiwen Wang2, Barbara Eckel1, Klaus-Dieter Klass3, Fritz-Olaf Lehmann4 and Bernard Moussian1,2,5* Abstract Background: Elasticity prevents fatigue of tissues that are extensively and repeatedly deformed. Resilin is a resilient and elastic extracellular protein matrix in joints and hinges of insects. For its mechanical properties, Resilin is extensively analysed and applied in biomaterial and biomedical sciences. However, there is only indirect evidence for Resilin distribution and function in an insect. Commonly, the presence of dityrosines that covalently link Resilin protein monomers (Pro-Resilin), which are responsible for its mechanical properties and fluoresce upon UV excitation, has been considered to reflect Resilin incidence. Results: Using a GFP-tagged Resilin version, we directly identify Resilin in pliable regions of the Drosophila body, some of which were not described before. Interestingly, the amounts of dityrosines are not proportional to the amounts of Resilin in different areas of the fly body, arguing that the mechanical properties of Resilin matrices vary according to their need. For a functional analysis of Resilin matrices, applying the RNA interference and Crispr/Cas9 techniques, we generated flies with reduced or eliminated Resilin function, respectively. We find that these flies are flightless but capable of locomotion and viable suggesting that other proteins may partially compensate for Resilin function. Indeed, localizations of the potentially elastic protein Cpr56F and Resilin occasionally coincide. Conclusions: Thus, Resilin-matrices are composite in the way that varying amounts of different elastic proteins and dityrosinylation define material properties. Understanding the biology of Resilin will have an impact on Resilin- based biomaterial and biomedical sciences. Keywords: Resilin, Cuticle, Extracellular matrix, Drosophila, Flight Background crawling, biting and flight. An essential element of the Elasticity and resilience are essential for the integrity of pliable regions is an elastic extracellular protein-matrix tissues that function through repeated and extensive de- called Resilin [3, 4]. Resilin usually resides in joints [5], formation. In vertebrates, for instance, the elastic extra- wing articulations [6] and adhesive structures at the end cellular polymeric protein Elastin in the lung and blood of limbs [7]. The mechanical properties of Resilin have vessels ensures their functionality after numerous times been studied extensively in vivo and in vitro for biomed- of use [1, 2]. The insect exoskeleton (cuticle) is subdi- ical and biomimetic purposes. Despite rapid progress in vided into rigid and pliable regions that in concert allow this respect, the composition of the Resilin matrix is yet various types of movement like running, jumping, unexplored. Conceptually, the Resilin matrix consists of Resilin monomers (Pro-Resilin) that are cross-linked via * Correspondence: [email protected] di- and trityrosine bonds [8–10]. Upon excitation with 1Applied Zoology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany UV light, di- and trityrosines emit blue light, a property 2Animal Genetics, Interfaculty Institute of Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany that has been used for indirect Resilin detection in vari- Full list of author information is available at the end of the article ous insects [11, 12]. Generally, Pro-Resilin has a type 2 © The Author(s). 2020, corrected publication 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1. 0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Lerch et al. BMC Biology (2020) 18:195 Page 2 of 15 Rebers and Riddiford consensus chitin-binding motif configuration of different Resilin matrices would allow (R&R-2) suggesting that association with the polysac- understanding of how matrix properties are modulated charide chitin is needed for Resilin function [13–15]. In according to specific needs. To address the function of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, besides the full- Resilin matrices in an insect, we chose to first determine length Pro-Resilin isoform with the R&R-2 domain (620 directly the tissue distribution of Pro-Resilin in the cu- aa), an isoform lacking this domain (575 aa) is present ticle of adult D. melanogaster fruit flies and second to through alternative splicing. Outside the R&R-2 motif, behaviourally characterise flies without Pro-Resilin Pro-Resilin sequences in different insects vary consider- through genetic manipulation. ably. In principle, these sequences are characterised by stretches of non-conserved repetitive blocks that account Results for the elasticity of Pro-Resilins [10, 16–18]. Resilin-GFP distribution in the fly body Presence of Resilin in different body parts argues that In order to visualise Resilin in D. melanogaster, we used matrix composition may vary to accommodate the re- transgenic flies expressing a C-terminally GFP-tagged spective mechanical need. For instance, in adhesive tar- Pro-Resilin (Pro-Resilin-GFP) under the control of the sal setae, a fluorescence gradient implying a Pro-Resilin endogenous promoter (Additional file 1: Figure S1). Pro- concentration gradient has been reported [18], while in Resilin-GFP is, in contrast to recent reports [20], not joints and jump devices, a massive extracellular Resilin expressed during embryogenesis and larval development. matrix prevails [5, 19]. This variety suggests that along This was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR with Pro-Resilin, other proteins may be incorporated in (qPCR; Additional file 2: Figure S2). During pupal devel- the Resilin matrix to modify the mechanical properties opment, patches of GFP signal were detected in the wing according to its role in movement and adhesion. De- articulation and near the leg joints, probably basal parts tailed knowledge about the constitution and of tendons (Fig. 1a, Additional file 16: Movie S1). In Fig. 1 Resilin localises to distinct regions of the fly body. a Pro-Resilin-GFP (red) is detected in the head region of the pupa. b In the adult fly, spots are found at the leg joints, at the wing articulation and on the flanks of the abdomen. c In the head, Pro-Resilin-GFP marks large patches around the cibarium and the labellum. d, e By higher magnification, several small Pro-Resilin-GFP patches are detected along the length of the leg, close to the joints and at the wing articulations. Details of the Pro-Resilin-GFP signal in the leg are shown in Additional file 3: Figure S3. f Small spots are visible at the tracheal endings. g Pro-Resilin-GFP is also detected at the hair bases. The GFP signal was merged with the bright- field image in a–g. Images were recorded on a Leica DMi8 microscope. Details of the microscope settings are described in the “Methods” section. Labelling: br, bristle; ci, cibarium; co, coxa; fr, femur; lb, labellum; sp, spiracle; tb, tibia; th, trochanter; tr, tarsus; txs, thorax, exact location of signal unclear; wa, wing articulation Lerch et al. BMC Biology (2020) 18:195 Page 3 of 15 addition, there was a large area of GFP expression in the DT auto-fluorescence. In few Pro-Resilin-GFP regions proboscis (Fig. 1a). The pupal expression pattern including a remarkable strong spot in the femur persisted in adult flies (Fig. 1b–g). A detailed analysis of (Fig. 3A), parts of the tibia-femur joint (Fig. 3B) and the Pro-Resilin-GFP in the proboscis, the leg and the wing ar- tarsi (Fig. 3C), the GFP signal was not accompanied by a ticulation is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Close in- DT signal. spection of bristles revealed that the bases of only those on Generally, in the whole D. melanogaster body, no the posterior segments of the abdomen contained Pro- convincing DT signal was detected that did not merge Resilin-GFP (Fig. 1g, Fig. 5, Additional file 4:FigureS4). with a Pro-Resilin-GFP signal (see Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and Moreover, the segmental openings of the tracheae (spira- Additional file 11: Figure S11). However, we are reluc- cles) at lateral position of the body were marked by Pro- tant to exclude such a situation as we observed that oc- Resilin-GFP (Fig. 1f, Additional file 4:FigureS4).Inadult casionally the tips of the proboscis, for instance, that females, the GFP signal was detected in spermatheca ducts were devoid of any Pro-Resilin-GFP signal, displayed (Additional file 5: Figure S5). This localization pattern con- weak auto-fluorescence when excited with a light of 355 firms largely previous predictions, assumptions and descrip- nm (Fig. 2). By trend, nevertheless, these findings sug- tions of Resilin occurrence in various insect species [21–23]. gest that commonly all DT regions in the fly body cu- ticle include Pro-Resilin-GFP. Some Pro-Resilin-GFP Resilin-GFP colocalises with dityrosine areas, however, did not show any DT signal suggesting Usually, histological identification of Resilin in insects that dityrosinylation of Pro-Resilin is not obligatory.
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