Insect Transcription Factors: A Landscape of Their Structures and Biological Functions in Drosophila and beyond

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 19; no. 11; p. 3691
• Main Authors: Guo, Zhaojiang, Qin, Jianying, Zhou, Xiaomao, Zhang, Youjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21-11-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Amino acids; Animals; Binding sites; CRISPR; Drosophila; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila - metabolism; Drosophila Proteins - chemistry; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; Evolution, Molecular; Fruit flies; Gene regulation; Genomes; insect; Insects; Nervous system; Pest control; Physiology; progress and prospects; Proteins; research methods; Review; Roles; structures and functions; Transcription factors; Transcription Factors - chemistry; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptional Activation; research methods; insect; progress and prospects; structures and functions; transcription factors
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113691

Transcription factors (TFs) play essential roles in the transcriptional regulation of functional genes, and are involved in diverse physiological processes in living organisms. The fruit fly
, a simple and easily manipulated organismal model, has been extensively applied to study the biological functions of TFs and their related transcriptional regulation mechanisms. It is noteworthy that with the development of genetic tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 and the next-generation genome sequencing techniques in recent years, identification and dissection the complex genetic regulatory networks of TFs have also made great progress in other insects beyond
. However, unfortunately, there is no comprehensive review that systematically summarizes the structures and biological functions of TFs in both model and non-model insects. Here, we spend extensive effort in collecting vast related studies, and attempt to provide an impartial overview of the progress of the structure and biological functions of current documented TFs in insects, as well as the classical and emerging research methods for studying their regulatory functions. Consequently, considering the importance of versatile TFs in orchestrating diverse insect physiological processes, this review will assist a growing number of entomologists to interrogate this understudied field, and to propel the progress of their contributions to pest control and even human health.