Hormonal control of developmental timing depends on tissue-specific factors

What is it about?

Hormones control the timing of events during development across the entire animal. However, it is unclear how tissue-specific hormone responses are generated. Here, we find that the master regulator of hormone signaling in insects – the ecdysone receptor – binds target enhancers in a tissue-specific manner. This helps explain how ecdysone generates tissue-specific gene expression. Surprisingly, we find that the ecdysone receptor depends entirely on other tissue-specific factors to determine which target enhancers it binds. This dependency on other factors contrasts with the ability of some master regulators to determine their own target enhancers.

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Why is it important?

Our findings help explain the fundamental mechanisms by which developmental gene expression programs change over time, a process that is essential for creating the incredible diversity of cell types present in adult animals. Ecdysone hormone signaling also plays a central role in reproduction, physiology, and development of many species of insect. Therefore, a deeper understanding of ecdysone signaling may also help management of insect populations in agriculture and as disease vectors.