Menin links the stress response to genome stability in Drosophila melanogaster

Mutants of the Mnn1 gene are hyper-sensitive to several stresses and display increased genome instability when subjected to conditions, such as heat shock, generally regarded as non-genotoxic. We describe a role for Menin as a global regulator of heat shock gene expression and critical factor in the maintenance of genome integrity 2-colour microarray design using 36 microarrays testing shock vs non shock in Drosophila melanogaster. Using a test of loss-of-heterozygosity, we show that Drosophila strains lacking a functional Mnn1 gene or expressing a Mnn1 dsRNAi are characterized by increased genome instability in response to short, repeated but non-lethal heat shock or hypoxia treatments. The same was true for strains lacking all Hsp70 genes.