RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Loss of miR-210 leads to progressive retinal degeneration in Drosophila melanogaster JF Life Science Alliance JO Life Sci. Alliance FD Life Science Alliance LLC SP e201800149 DO 10.26508/lsa.201800149 VO 2 IS 1 A1 Carina M Weigelt A1 Oliver Hahn A1 Katharina Arlt A1 Matthias Gruhn A1 Annika J Jahn A1 Jacqueline Eßer A1 Jennifer A Werner A1 Corinna Klein A1 Ansgar Büschges A1 Sebastian Grönke A1 Linda Partridge YR 2019 UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/2/1/e201800149.abstract AB miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. We used small RNA sequencing to identify tissue-specific miRNAs in the adult brain, thorax, gut, and fat body of Drosophila melanogaster. One of the most brain-specific miRNAs that we identified was miR-210, an evolutionarily highly conserved miRNA implicated in the regulation of hypoxia in mammals. In Drosophila, we show that miR-210 is specifically expressed in sensory organs, including photoreceptors. miR-210 knockout mutants are not sensitive toward hypoxia but show progressive degradation of photoreceptor cells, accompanied by decreased photoreceptor potential, demonstrating an important function of miR-210 in photoreceptor maintenance and survival.