Modulation of novel-length DOPA decarboxylase transcripts by 20-OH-ecdysone in a Drosophila melanogaster Kc cell subline.

The induction of DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) activity by 20-OH-ecdysone (20-OHE) in a subline of Drosophila melanogaster Kc cells was investigated. Cells cultured in the continuous presence of the steroid hormone exhibited a 96-h temporal lag prior to a peak of DDC enzyme activity while arrested in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. The concentration of Ddc RNA increased sixfold between 72 and 96 h after initial exposure to hormone. Similarly, this increase was correlated temporally with a 26-fold increase in DDC enzyme activity. The Kc Ddc primary transcript, processing intermediate, and mature mRNA all were approximately 500 nucleotides longer than the corresponding transcripts observed for newly eclosed adult D. melanogaster. In vitro translation of poly(A)+ RNA from Kc cells resulted in an immunoprecipitable polypeptide which exhibited similar mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels to that of DDC synthesized in vitro by larval epidermal poly(A)+ RNA.