Figure Legend: Heatmap depicting microRNAs enrichment in the three main cell types of the developing Drosophila brain: glia, neurons and neural progenitors.

Researchers at IBDM have developed a new technique, they called “in vivo AGO-APP”, that allows a comprehensive description of active microRNAs expressed in the different cell types of a tissue.

Applying it to the developing brain of the fruitfly Drosophila, they could idenitify a module of miRNAs expressed in neural stem cells, that silences a gene network involved in neuronal differentiation. The results suggest that the efficiency and specificity of microRNA targeting to mRNAs relies on their cooperative mode of action. This work paves the way for the precise manipulation of entire gene networks through the control of miRNA activity.

This work is a fruitful collaboration between the Cremer and the Maurange teams.

Narbonne-Reveau* K, Erni* A, Eichner N, Sankar S, Kapoor S, Meister G, Cremer H, Maurange C, Beclin C. In vivo AGO-APP identifies a module of microRNAs cooperatively preserving neural progenitors. PLoS Genet. 2025 Apr 29;21(4):e1011680.