The initiator caspase Dronc is the only CARD-domain containing caspase in Drosophila and is essential for apoptosis. Here, we report that homozygous dronc mutant adult animals are short-lived due to the presence of a poorly developed, defective and leaky intestine. Interestingly, this mutant phenotype can be significantly rescued by enteroblast-specific expression of dronc+ in dronc mutant animals, suggesting that proper Dronc function specifically in enteroblasts, one of four cell types in the intestine, is critical for normal development of the intestine. Furthermore, enteroblast-specific knockdown of dronc in adult intestines triggers hyperplasia and differentiation defects. These enteroblast-specific functions of Dronc do not require the apoptotic pathway and thus occur in a non-apoptotic manner. In summary, we demonstrate that an apoptotic initiator caspase has a very critical non-apoptotic function for normal development and for the control of the cell lineage in the adult midgut and therefore for proper physiology and homeostasis.

中文翻译：

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启动子胱天蛋白酶Dronc对果蝇肠道发育和体内稳态的非凋亡成肠细胞特异性作用

引发剂caspase Dronc是果蝇中唯一包含CARD域的caspase，对细胞凋亡至关重要。在这里，我们报告纯合的dronc突变成年动物是短命的，由于存在发育不良，缺陷和漏水的肠道。有趣的是，在dronc突变动物中，通过dronc +的肠胚细胞特异性表达可以显着挽救该突变体表型，这表明特定的Dronc功能在肠道细胞（肠中四种细胞类型之一）中特异地对于肠的正常发育至关重要。此外，成虫肠道中成虫特定的成肠细胞特异性敲低会触发增生和分化缺陷。Dronc的这些成肠细胞特异性功能不需要凋亡途径，因此可以非凋亡方式发生。综上所述，