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Myogenesis is an evolutionarily conserved process. Little known, however, is how the morphology of each muscle is determined, such that movements relying upon contraction of many muscles are both precise and coordinated. Each Drosophila larval muscle is a single multinucleated fibre whose morphology reflects expression of distinctive identity Transcription Factors (iTFs). By deleting transcription cis-regulatory modules of one iTF, Collier, we generated viable muscle identity mutants, allowing live imaging and locomotion assays. We show that both selection of muscle attachment sites and muscle/muscle matching is intrinsic to muscle identity and requires transcriptional reprogramming of syncytial nuclei. Live-imaging shows that the staggered muscle pattern involves attraction to tendon cells and heterotypic muscle-muscle adhesion. Unbalance leads to formation of branched muscles, and this correlates with locomotor behavior deficit. Thus, engineering Drosophila muscle identity mutants allows to investigate, in vivo, physiological and mechanical properties of abnormal muscles., Competing Interests: AC, LB, GL, LD, AP, YC, AW, AV, JF No competing interests declared, (© 2020, Carayon et al.)

Alary muscles (AMs) have been described as a component of the cardiac system in various arthropods. Lineage-related thoracic muscles (TARMs), linking the exoskeleton to specific gut regions, have recently been discovered in Drosophila Asymmetrical attachments of AMs and TARMs, to the exoskeleton on one side and internal organs on the other, suggested an architectural function in moving larvae. Here, we analysed the shape and sarcomeric organisation of AMs and TARMs, and imaged their atypical deformability in crawling larvae. We then selectively eliminated AMs and TARMs by targeted apoptosis. Elimination of AMs revealed that AMs are required for suspending the heart in proper intra-haemocelic position and for opening of the heart lumen, and that AMs constrain the curvature of the respiratory tracheal system during crawling; TARMs are required for proper positioning of visceral organs and efficient food transit. AM/TARM cardiac versus visceral attachment depends on Hox control, with visceral attachment being the ground state. TARMs and AMs are the first example of multinucleate striated muscles connecting the skeleton to the cardiac and visceral systems in bilaterians, with multiple physiological functions., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Collier, the single Drosophila COE (Collier/EBF/Olf-1) transcription factor, is required in several developmental processes, including head patterning and specification of muscle and neuron identity during embryogenesis. To identify direct Collier (Col) targets in different cell types, we used ChIP-seq to map Col binding sites throughout the genome, at mid-embryogenesis. In vivo Col binding peaks were associated to 415 potential direct target genes. Gene Ontology analysis revealed a strong enrichment in proteins with DNA binding and/or transcription-regulatory properties. Characterization of a selection of candidates, using transgenic CRM-reporter assays, identified direct Col targets in dorso-lateral somatic muscles and specific neuron types in the central nervous system. These data brought new evidence that Col direct control of the expression of the transcription regulators apterous and eyes-absent (eya) is critical to specifying neuronal identities. They also showed that cross-regulation between col and eya in muscle progenitor cells is required for specification of muscle identity, revealing a new parallel between the myogenic regulatory networks operating in Drosophila and vertebrates. Col regulation of eya, both in specific muscle and neuronal lineages, may illustrate one mechanism behind the evolutionary diversification of Col biological roles.

Hox genes in species across the metazoa encode transcription factors (TFs) containing highly-conserved homeodomains that bind target DNA sequences to regulate batteries of developmental target genes. DNA-bound Hox proteins, together with other TF partners, induce an appropriate transcriptional response by RNA Polymerase II (PolII) and its associated general transcription factors. How the evolutionarily conserved Hox TFs interface with this general machinery to generate finely regulated transcriptional responses remains obscure. One major component of the PolII machinery, the Mediator (MED) transcription complex, is composed of roughly 30 protein subunits organized in modules that bridge the PolII enzyme to DNA-bound TFs. Here, we investigate the physical and functional interplay between Drosophila melanogaster Hox developmental TFs and MED complex proteins. We find that the Med19 subunit directly binds Hox homeodomains, in vitro and in vivo. Loss-of-function Med19 mutations act as dose-sensitive genetic modifiers that synergistically modulate Hox-directed developmental outcomes. Using clonal analysis, we identify a role for Med19 in Hox-dependent target gene activation. We identify a conserved, animal-specific motif that is required for Med19 homeodomain binding, and for activation of a specific Ultrabithorax target. These results provide the first direct molecular link between Hox homeodomain proteins and the general PolII machinery. They support a role for Med19 as a PolII holoenzyme-embedded "co-factor" that acts together with Hox proteins through their homeodomains in regulated developmental transcription.