Genes regulated by Yki play roles in the cell cycle, cell migration and cell adhesion in Drosophila

In order to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of Yki-regulated tracheal progenitor migration and proliferation, genomic chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) was performed to identify loci bound by Yki in trachea.The peaks we observed included multiple Yki binding sites in the promoter and intronic regions of expanded (ex) and Diap1, which are well-characterized direct target genes of Yki. Other Yki targets are regulators in cell migration, cell cycle, and cell adhesion, and include hnt, which is a regulator of cell cycle in follicle cells.Yki occupancy was also pronounced in the promoter region of two heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), Dally and Dally-like protein (Dlp) , which together with Ex and Diap1 belong to the cell migration GO cluster. Significant ChIP-seq peaks were observed in the region of N-cadherin (Ncad), a cell adhesion molecule that promotes cell migration and Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), a component of the extracellular matrix. Together, these results suggest that Yki activates various targets that function in cell cycle, cell migration and cell adhesion. Overall design: Identify the targets of Yki using ChIP-seq in the white pupae of Drosophila