Ecdysteroid regulation of glucose dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster.

The temporal patterns of glucose dehydrogenase (Gld) and alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) expression in Drosophila are correlated positively and negatively, respectively, with ecdysterone titers during the late third instar. In mutant l(3)ecdysone-1ts (ecd-1) larvae, the normal peak of Gld mRNA late in the third instar is not expressed. Conversely, the normal decrease in Adh mRNA at this stage fails to occur in ecd-1. These two abnormal patterns can be reversed by treatment with exogenous ecdysterone. Premature exposure of wild type mid-third instar larvae to ecdysterone also results in the rapid accumulation of Gld mRNA and signals the repression of Adh mRNA. The observed decrease in Adh mRNA expression is accompanied by a transient switch in promoter usage from proximal to distal transcription start sites, which normally occurs later in the third instar.