Developmental effects of a chimeric ultraspiracle gene derived from Drosophila and Chironomus.

The ultraspiracle (usp) gene encodes a nuclear receptor that forms a heterodimer with the ecdysone receptor (EcR) to mediate transcriptional responses to the insect steroid hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE). The responses ultimately elicit changes associated with molting and metamorphosis. Although Ultraspiracle (USP) is required at several developmental times, it is unclear whether USP plays stage-specific roles in Drosophila. A chimeric transgene (d/cusp), produced by replacing the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of Drosophila USP with the equivalent domain from another Diptera, Chironomus tentans, was tested for its ability to rescue Drosophila usp mutants from early larval lethality. A single copy of the d/cusp was sufficient to rescue transformants from several lines through larval development but they died suddenly during the late third instar. Additional doses of d/cusp were required to allow survival through the adult stage, but they did not restore a normal prepupal contraction. Thus, the arrest at the onset of metamorphosis apparently is caused by the impaired ability of the chimeric USP to mediate a stage-specific function associated with the LBD.