2008/10/15

Sumoylation in the synthesis of steroid hormones: smt3 is required for Drosophila melanogaster metamorphosis

A group from CIC bioGUNE, in collaboration with groups from Barcelona and Stockholm University, have demonstrated a role for sumoylation in the synthesis of steroid hormones. Steroidogenesis is conserved during evolution and in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is crucial for the process of metamorphosis. Synthesis of hormones depends on the availability of cholesterol in the secretory cells of the prothoracic gland (see the picture), the insect equivalent of the mammalian adrenal cortex. Lack of sumoylation impedes metamorphosis in Drosophila, as the cholesterol intake by the prothoracic gland cells is compromised. This work has been published in Development.