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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes vary greatly among individuals, but most of the variation remains unexplained. Using a Drosophila melanogaster TBI model and 178 genetically diverse lines from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), we investigated the role that genetic variation plays in determining TBI outcomes. Following injury at 20–27 days old, DGRP lines varied considerably in mortality within 24 h (“early mortality”). Additionally, the disparity in early mortality resulting from injury at 20–27 vs 0–7 days old differed among DGRP lines. These data support a polygenic basis for differences in TBI outcomes, where some gene variants elicit their effects by acting on aging-related processes. Our genome-wide association study of DGRP lines identified associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in Lissencephaly-1 (Lis-1) and Patronin and early mortality following injury at 20–27 days old. Lis-1 regulates dynein, a microtubule motor required for retrograde transport of many cargoes, and Patronin protects microtubule minus ends against depolymerization. While Patronin mutants did not affect early mortality, Lis-1 compound heterozygotes (Lis-1x/Lis-1y) had increased early mortality following injury at 20–27 or 0–7 days old compared with Lis-1 heterozygotes (Lis-1x/+), and flies that survived 24 h after injury had increased neurodegeneration but an unaltered lifespan, indicating that Lis-1 affects TBI outcomes independently of effects on aging. These data suggest that Lis-1 activity is required in the brain to ameliorate TBI outcomes through effects on axonal transport, microtubule stability, and other microtubule proteins, such as tau, implicated in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a TBI-associated neurodegenerative disease in humans.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathologies are caused by primary and secondary injuries. Primary injuries result from physical damage to the brain, and secondary injuries arise from cellular responses to primary injuries. A characteristic cellular response is sustained activation of inflammatory pathways commonly mediated by nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factors. Using a Drosophila melanogaster TBI model, we previously found that the main proximal transcriptional response to primary injuries is triggered by activation of Toll and Imd innate immune response pathways that engage NF-κB factors Dif and Relish (Rel), respectively. Here, we found by mass spectrometry that Rel protein level increased in fly heads at 4–8 hr after TBI. To investigate the necessity of Rel for secondary injuries, we generated a null allele, Rel(del), by CRISPR/Cas9 editing. When heterozygous but not homozygous, the Rel(del) mutation reduced mortality at 24 hr after TBI and increased the lifespan of injured flies. Additionally, the effect of heterozygosity for Rel(del) on mortality was modulated by genetic background and diet. To identify genes that facilitate effects of Rel(del) on TBI outcomes, we compared genome-wide mRNA expression profiles of uninjured and injured +/+, +/Rel(del), and Rel(del)/Rel(del) flies at 4 hr following TBI. Only a few genes changed expression more than twofold in +/Rel(del) flies relative to +/+ and Rel(del)/Rel(del) flies, and they were not canonical innate immune response genes. Therefore, Rel is necessary for TBI-induced secondary injuries but in complex ways involving Rel gene dose, genetic background, diet, and possibly small changes in expression of innate immune response genes.

Blunt force injuries are a significant cause of disability and death worldwide. Here, we describe a Drosophila melanogaster model of blunt force injury that can be used to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the short-term and long-term effects of injuries sustained at a juvenile stage of development. Injuries inflicted in late third-instar larvae using the spring-based High-Impact Trauma (HIT) device robustly activated the humoral defense response process of melanization and caused larval and pupal lethality. Additionally, adults that developed from injured larvae had reduced lifespans, indicating that cellular and molecular mechanisms activated by blunt force injuries in larvae persist through metamorphosis and adult development. Previously, the HIT device has been used to investigate genetic and environmental factors underlying mechanisms that contribute to consequences of blunt force injuries incurred in adult flies. This work expands use of the HIT device to a juvenile stage of development, offering the opportunity to investigate whether the consequences of blunt force injuries involve different factors and mechanisms at different stages of development.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common neurological disorder whose outcomes vary widely depending on a variety of environmental factors, including diet. Using a Drosophila melanogaster TBI model that reproduces key aspects of TBI in humans, we previously found that the diet consumed immediately following a primary brain injury has a substantial effect on the incidence of mortality within 24 h (early mortality). Flies that receive equivalent primary injuries have a higher incidence of early mortality when fed high-carbohydrate diets versus water. Here, we report that flies fed high-fat ketogenic diet (KD) following TBI exhibited early mortality that was equivalent to that of flies fed water and that flies protected from early mortality by KD continued to show survival benefits weeks later. KD also has beneficial effects in mammalian TBI models, indicating that the mechanism of action of KD is evolutionarily conserved. To probe the mechanism, we examined the effect of KD in flies mutant for Eip75B, an ortholog of the transcription factor PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma) that contributes to the mechanism of action of KD and has neuroprotective effects in mammalian TBI models. We found that the incidence of early mortality of Eip75B mutant flies was higher when they were fed KD than when they were fed water following TBI. These data indicate that Eip75B/PPARγ is necessary for the beneficial effects of KD following TBI. In summary, this work provides the first evidence that KD activates PPARγ to reduce deleterious outcomes of TBI and it demonstrates the utility of the fly TBI model for dissecting molecular pathways that contribute to heterogeneity in TBI outcomes.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently leads to non-neurological consequences such as intestinal permeability. The beta-blocker drug labetalol, which inhibits binding of catecholamine neurotransmitters to adrenergic receptors, reduces intestinal permeability in a rat TBI model. Using a Drosophila melanogaster TBI model, we previously found a strong positive correlation between intestinal permeability and mortality within 24 hours of TBI in a standard laboratory line (w1118) and across genetically diverse inbred lines from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). Here, we report that feeding injured w1118flies the beta-blockers labetalol and metoprolol reduced intestinal permeability and mortality. Additionally, metoprolol reduced intestinal permeability when 18 DGRP fly lines were analyzed in aggregate, but neither beta-blocker affected mortality. These data indicate that the mechanism underlying disruption of the intestinal barrier by adrenergic signaling following TBI is conserved between humans and flies and that mortality following TBI in flies is not strictly dependent on disruption of the intestinal barrier. Thus, the fly TBI model is useful for shedding light on the mechanism and consequences of adrenergic signaling between the brain and intestine following TBI in humans.

BACKGROUND Exposure to anesthetics is common in the majority of early survivors of life-threatening injuries. Whether and to what degree general anesthetics influence outcomes from major trauma is unknown. Potential confounding effects of general anesthetics on outcome measures are usually disregarded. We hypothesized that exposure to isoflurane or sevoflurane modulates the outcome from blunt trauma with traumatic brain injury (bTBI). METHODS We tested the hypothesis in a novel model of bTBI implemented in Drosophila melanogaster. Fruit flies of the standard laboratory strain w were cultured under standard conditions. We titrated the severity of bTBI to a mortality index at 24 hours (MI24) of approximately 20% under control conditions. We administered standard doses of isoflurane and sevoflurane before, before and during, or after bTBI and measured the resulting MI24. We report the MI24 as mean ± standard deviation. RESULTS Isoflurane or sevoflurane administered for 2 hours before bTBI reduced the MI24 from 22.3 ± 2.6 to 10.4 ± 1.8 (P < 10, n = 12) and from 19.3 ± 0.9 to 8.9 ± 1.1 (P < .0001, n = 8), respectively. In contrast, administration of isoflurane after bTBI increased the MI24 from 18.5% ± 4.3% to 25.3% ± 9.1% (P = .0026, n = 22), while sevoflurane had no effect (22.4 ± 7.1 and 21.5 ± 5.8, n = 22). CONCLUSIONS In a whole animal model of bTBI, general anesthetics were not indifferent with respect to early mortality. Therefore, collateral effects of general anesthetics should be considered in the interpretation of results obtained in vertebrate trauma models. Invertebrate model organisms can serve as a productive platform to interrogate anesthetic targets that mediate collateral effects and to inform trauma research in higher organisms about the potential impact of anesthetics on outcomes.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. The complexity of TBI partly stems from the fact that injuries to the brain instigate non-neurological injuries to other organs such as the intestine. Additionally, genetic variation is thought to play a large role in determining the nature and severity of non-neurological injuries. We recently reported that TBI in flies, as in humans, increases permeability of the intestinal epithelial barrier resulting in hyperglycemia and a higher risk of death. Furthermore, we demonstrated that genetic variation in flies is also pertinent to the complexity of non-neurological injuries following TBI. The goals of this review are to place our findings in the context of what is known about TBI-induced intestinal permeability from studies of TBI patients and rodent TBI models and to draw attention to how studies of the fly TBI model can provide unique insights that may facilitate diagnosis and treatment of TBI.

Neurodegeneration is a hallmark of the human disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) that is caused by mutation of the A-T mutated (ATM) gene. We have analyzed Drosophila melanogaster ATM mutants to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in A-T. Previously, we found that ATM mutants upregulate the expression of innate immune response (IIR) genes and undergo neurodegeneration in the central nervous system. Here, we present evidence that activation of the IIR is a cause of neurodegeneration in ATM mutants. Three lines of evidence indicate that ATM mutations cause neurodegeneration by activating the Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factor Relish, a key regulator of the Immune deficiency (Imd) IIR signaling pathway. First, the level of upregulation of IIR genes, including Relish target genes, was directly correlated with the level of neurodegeneration in ATM mutants. Second, Relish mutations inhibited upregulation of IIR genes and neurodegeneration in ATM mutants. Third, overexpression of constitutively active Relish in glial cells activated the IIR and caused neurodegeneration. In contrast, we found that Imd and Dif mutations did not affect neurodegeneration in ATM mutants. Imd encodes an activator of Relish in the response to gram-negative bacteria, and Dif encodes an immune responsive NF-κB transcription factor in the Toll signaling pathway. These data indicate that the signal that causes neurodegeneration in ATM mutants activates a specific NF-κB protein and does so through an unknown activator. In summary, these findings suggest that neurodegeneration in human A-T is caused by activation of a specific NF-κB protein in glial cells.

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing is a major gene expression regulatory mechanism in metazoan organisms. Proteins that bind pre-mRNA elements and control assembly of splicing complexes regulate utilization of pre-mRNA alternative splice sites. To understand how signaling pathways impact this mechanism, an RNA interference screen in Drosophila S2 cells was used to identify proteins that regulate TAF1 (TBP-associated factor 1) alternative splicing in response to activation of the ATR (ATM-RAD3-related) signaling pathway by the chemotherapeutic drug camptothecin (CPT). The screen identified 15 proteins that, when knocked down, caused the same change in TAF1 alternative splicing as CPT treatment. However, combined RNA interference and CPT treatment experiments indicated that only a subset of the identified proteins are targets of the CPT-induced signal, suggesting that multiple independent pathways regulate TAF1 alternative splicing. To understand how signals modulate the function of splicing factors, we characterized one of the CPT targets, Tra2 (Transformer-2). CPT was found to down-regulate Tra2 protein levels. CPT-induced Tra2 down-regulation was ATR-dependent and temporally paralleled the change in TAF1 alternative splicing, supporting the conclusion that Tra2 directly regulates TAF1 alternative splicing. Additionally, CPT-induced Tra2 down-regulation occurred independently of new protein synthesis, suggesting a post-translational mechanism. The proteasome inhibitor MG132 reduced CPT-induced Tra2 degradation and TAF1 alternative splicing, and mutation of evolutionarily conserved Tra2 lysine 81, a potential ubiquitin conjugation site, to arginine inhibited CPT-induced Tra2 degradation, supporting a proteasome-dependent alternative splicing mechanism. We conclude that CPT-induced TAF1 alternative splicing occurs through ATR-signaled degradation of a subset of splicing-regulatory proteins.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people each year, causing impairment of physical, cognitive, and behavioral functions and death. Studies using Drosophila have contributed important breakthroughs in understanding neurological processes. Thus, with the goal of understanding the cellular and molecular basis of TBI pathologies in humans, we developed the High Impact Trauma (HIT) device to inflict closed head TBI in flies. Flies subjected to the HIT device display phenotypes consistent with human TBI such as temporary incapacitation and progressive neurodegeneration. The HIT device uses a spring-based mechanism to propel flies against the wall of a vial, causing mechanical damage to the fly brain. The device is inexpensive and easy to construct, its operation is simple and rapid, and it produces reproducible results. Consequently, the HIT device can be combined with existing experimental tools and techniques for flies to address fundamental questions about TBI that can lead to the development of diagnostics and treatments for TBI. In particular, the HIT device can be used to perform large-scale genetic screens to understand the genetic basis of TBI pathologies.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people each year, causing impairment of physical, cognitive, and behavioral functions and death. Studies using Drosophila have contributed important breakthroughs in understanding neurological processes. Thus, with the goal of understanding the cellular and molecular basis of TBI pathologies in humans, we developed the High Impact Trauma (HIT) device to inflict closed head TBI in flies. Flies subjected to the HIT device display phenotypes consistent with human TBI such as temporary incapacitation and progressive neurodegeneration. The HIT device uses a spring-based mechanism to propel flies against the wall of a vial, causing mechanical damage to the fly brain. The device is inexpensive and easy to construct, its operation is simple and rapid, and it produces reproducible results. Consequently, the HIT device can be combined with existing experimental tools and techniques for flies to address fundamental questions about TBI that can lead to the development of diagnostics and treatments for TBI. In particular, the HIT device can be used to perform large-scale genetic screens to understand the genetic basis of TBI pathologies.

Alternative pre-mRNA splicing is a major mechanism utilized by eukaryotic organisms to expand their protein-coding capacity. To examine the role of cell signaling in regulating alternative splicing, we analyzed the splicing of the Drosophila melanogaster TAF1 pre-mRNA. TAF1 encodes a subunit of TFIID, which is broadly required for RNA polymerase II transcription. We demonstrate that TAF1 alternative splicing generates four mRNAs, TAF1-1, TAF1-2, TAF1-3, and TAF1-4, of which TAF1-2 and TAF1-4 encode proteins that directly bind DNA through AT hooks. TAF1 alternative splicing was regulated in a tissue-specific manner and in response to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation or camptothecin. Pharmacological inhibitors and RNA interference were used to demonstrate that ionizing-radiation-induced upregulation of TAF1-3 and TAF1-4 splicing in S2 cells was mediated by the ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia mutated) DNA damage response kinase and checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2), a known ATM substrate. Similarly, camptothecin-induced upregulation of TAF1-3 and TAF1-4 splicing was mediated by ATR (ATM-RAD3 related) and CHK1. These findings suggest that inducible TAF1 alternative splicing is a mechanism to regulate transcription in response to developmental or DNA damage signals and provide the first evidence that the ATM/CHK2 and ATR/CHK1 signaling pathways control gene expression by regulating alternative splicing.

Dynamic changes in chromatin structure, induced by posttranslational modification of histones, play a fundamental role in regulating eukaryotic transcription. Here we report that histone H2B is phosphorylated at evolutionarily conserved Ser 33 (H2B-S33) by the carboxyl-terminal kinase domain (CTK) of the Drosophila TFIID subunit TAF1. Phosphorylation of H2B-S33 at the promoter of the cell cycle regulatory gene string and the segmentation gene giant coincides with transcriptional activation. Elimination of TAF1 CTK activity in Drosophila cells and embryos reduces transcriptional activation and phosphorylation of H2B-S33. These data reveal that H2B-S33 is a physiological substrate for the TAF1 CTK and that H2B-S33 phosphorylation is essential for transcriptional activation events that promote cell cycle progression and development.

Deacetylation of histones by the SIN3 complex is a major mechanism utilized in eukaryotic organisms to repress transcription. Presumably, developmental and cellular phenotypes resulting from mutations in SIN3 are a consequence of altered transcription of SIN3 target genes. Therefore, to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying SIN3 mutant phenotypes in Drosophila, we used full-genome oligonucleotide microarrays to compare gene expression levels in wild type Drosophila tissue culture cells versus SIN3-deficient cells generated by RNA interference. Of the 13,137 genes tested, 364 were induced and 35 were repressed by loss of SIN3. The ∼10-fold difference between the number of induced and repressed genes suggests that SIN3 plays a direct role in regulating these genes. The identified genes are distributed throughout euchromatic regions but are preferentially excluded from heterochromatic regions of Drosophila chromosomes suggesting that the SIN3 complex can only access particular chromatin structures. A number of cell cycle regulators were repressed by loss of SIN3, and functional studies indicate that repression of string, encoding the Drosophila homologue of the yeast CDC25 phosphatase, contributes to the G2 cell cycle delay of SIN3-deficient cells. Unexpectedly, a substantial fraction of genes induced by loss of SIN3 is involved in cytosolic and mitochondrial energy-generating pathways and other genes encode components of the mitochondrial translation machinery. Increased expression of mitochondrial proteins in SIN3-deficient cells is manifested in an increase in mitochondrial mass. Thus, SIN3 may play an important role in regulating mitochondrial respiratory activity.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Unfavorable TBI outcomes result from primary mechanical injuries to the brain and ensuing secondary non-mechanical injuries that are not limited to the brain. Our genome-wide association study of Drosophila melanogaster revealed that the probability of death following TBI is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes involved in tissue barrier function and glucose homeostasis. We found that TBI causes intestinal and blood–brain barrier dysfunction and that intestinal barrier dysfunction is highly correlated with the probability of death. Furthermore, we found that ingestion of glucose after a primary injury increases the probability of death through a secondary injury mechanism that exacerbates intestinal barrier dysfunction. Our results indicate that natural variation in the probability of death following TBI is due in part to genetic differences that affect intestinal barrier dysfunction. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04790.001, eLife digest Traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a violent blow to the head or body and the resultant collision of the brain against the skull is a major cause of disability and death in humans. Primary injury to the brain triggers secondary injuries that further damage the brain and other organs, generating many of the detrimental consequences of TBI. However, despite decades of study, the exact nature of these secondary injuries and their origin are poorly understood. A better understanding of secondary injuries should help to develop novel therapies to improve TBI outcomes in affected individuals. To obtain this information, in 2013 researchers devised a method to inflict TBI in the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, an organism that is readily amenable to detailed genetic and molecular studies. This investigation demonstrated that flies subjected to TBI display many of the same symptoms observed in humans after a brain injury, including temporary loss of mobility and damage to the brain that becomes worse over time. In addition, many of the flies die within 24 hr after brain injury. Now Katzenberger et al. use this experimental system to investigate the secondary injuries responsible for these deaths. First, genetic variants were identified that confer increased or decreased susceptibility to death after brain injury. Several of the identified genes affect the structural integrity of the intestinal barrier that isolates the contents of the gut—including nutrients and bacteria—from the circulatory system. Katzenberger et al. subsequently found that the breakdown of this barrier after brain injury permits bacteria and glucose to leak out of the intestine. Treating flies with antibiotics did not increase survival, whereas reducing glucose levels in the circulatory system after brain injury did. Thus, Katzenberger et al. conclude that high levels of glucose in the circulatory system, a condition known as hyperglycemia, is a key culprit in death following TBI. Notably, these results parallel findings in humans, where hyperglycemia is highly predictive of death following TBI. Similarly, individuals with diabetes have a significantly increased risk of death after TBI. These results suggest that the secondary injuries leading to death are the same in flies and humans and that further studies in flies are likely to provide additional new information that will help us understand the complex consequences of TBI. Important challenges remain, including understanding precisely how the brain and intestine communicate, how injury to the brain leads to disruption of the intestinal barrier, and why elevated glucose levels increase mortality after brain injury. Answers to these questions could help pave the way to new therapies for TBI. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04790.002

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a substantial health issue worldwide, yet the mechanisms responsible for its complex spectrum of pathologies remains largely unknown. To investigate the mechanisms underlying TBI pathologies, we developed a model of TBI in Drosophila melanogaster. The model allows us to take advantage of the wealth of experimental tools available in flies. Closed head TBI was inflicted with a mechanical device that subjects flies to rapid acceleration and deceleration. Similar to humans with TBI, flies with TBI exhibited temporary incapacitation, ataxia, activation of the innate immune response, neurodegeneration, and death. Our data indicate that TBI results in death shortly after a primary injury only if the injury exceeds a certain threshold and that age and genetic background, but not sex, substantially affect this threshold. Furthermore, this threshold also appears to be dependent on the same cellular and molecular mechanisms that control normal longevity. This study demonstrates the potential of flies for providing key insights into human TBI that may ultimately provide unique opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

FK-228 is a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with tremendous therapeutic potential against a wide array of human cancers. We describe the development of analogs that share FK-228’s novel mechanism of activation and HDAC inhibition.

Mutations in ATM (Ataxia telangiectasia mutated) result in Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T), a disorder characterized by progressive neurodegeneration. Despite advances in understanding how ATM signals cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis in response to DNA damage, it remains unclear why loss of ATM causes degeneration of post-mitotic neurons and why the neurological phenotype of ATM-null individuals varies in severity. To address these issues, we generated a Drosophila model of A-T. RNAi knockdown of ATM in the eye caused progressive degeneration of adult neurons in the absence of exogenously induced DNA damage. Heterozygous mutations in select genes modified the neurodegeneration phenotype, suggesting that genetic background underlies variable neurodegeneration in A-T. The neuroprotective activity of ATM may be negatively regulated by deacetylation since mutations in a protein deacetylase gene, RPD3, suppressed neurodegeneration, and a human homolog of RPD3, histone deacetylase 2, bound ATM and abrogated ATM activation in cell culture. Moreover, knockdown of ATM in post-mitotic neurons caused cell cycle re-entry, and heterozygous mutations in the cell cycle activator gene String/CDC25 inhibited cell cycle re-entry and neurodegeneration. Thus, we hypothesize that ATM performs a cell cycle checkpoint function to protect post-mitotic neurons from degeneration and that cell cycle re-entry causes neurodegeneration in A-T.

Deacetylation of histones by the SIN3 complex is a major mechanism utilized in eukaryotic organisms to repress transcription. Presumably, developmental and cellular phenotypes resulting from mutations in SIN3 are a consequence of altered transcription of SIN3 target genes. Therefore, to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying SIN3 mutant phenotypes in Drosophila, we used full-genome oligonucleotide microarrays to compare gene expression levels in wild type Drosophila tissue culture cells versus SIN3-deficient cells generated by RNA interference. Of the 13,137 genes tested, 364 were induced and 35 were repressed by loss of SIN3. The approximately 10-fold difference between the number of induced and repressed genes suggests that SIN3 plays a direct role in regulating these genes. The identified genes are distributed throughout euchromatic regions but are preferentially excluded from heterochromatic regions of Drosophila chromosomes suggesting that the SIN3 complex can only access particular chromatin structures. A number of cell cycle regulators were repressed by loss of SIN3, and functional studies indicate that repression of string, encoding the Drosophila homologue of the yeast CDC25 phosphatase, contributes to the G2 cell cycle delay of SIN3-deficient cells. Unexpectedly, a substantial fraction of genes induced by loss of SIN3 is involved in cytosolic and mitochondrial energy-generating pathways and other genes encode components of the mitochondrial translation machinery. Increased expression of mitochondrial proteins in SIN3-deficient cells is manifested in an increase in mitochondrial mass. Thus, SIN3 may play an important role in regulating mitochondrial respiratory activity.

Neuronal death in many neurodegenerative diseases is preceded by re-expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins and DNA synthesis.1 To illustrate, in post-mortem cerebella of individuals with Atax...

To investigate the importance of core promoter elements for tissue-specific transcription of RNA polymerase II genes, we examined testis-specific transcription in Drosophila melanogaster. Bioinformatic analyses of core promoter sequences from 190 genes that are specifically expressed in testes identified a 10 bp A/T-rich motif that is identical to the translational control element (TCE). The TCE functions in the 5′ untranslated region of Mst(3)CGP mRNAs to repress translation, and it also functions in a heterologous gene to regulate transcription. We found that among genes with focused initiation patterns, the TCE is significantly enriched in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in testes but not in core promoters of genes that are specifically expressed in other tissues. The TCE is variably located in core promoters and is conserved in melanogaster subgroup species, but conservation dramatically drops in more distant species. In transgenic flies, short (300–400 bp) genomic regions containing a TCE directed testis-specific transcription of a reporter gene. Mutation of the TCE significantly reduced but did not abolish reporter gene transcription indicating that the TCE is important but not essential for transcription activation. Finally, mutation of testis-specific TFIID (tTFIID) subunits significantly reduced the transcription of a subset of endogenous TCE-containing but not TCE-lacking genes, suggesting that tTFIID activity is limited to TCE-containing genes but that tTFIID is not an obligatory regulator of TCE-containing genes. Thus, the TCE is a core promoter element in a subset of genes that are specifically expressed in testes. Furthermore, the TCE regulates transcription in the context of short genomic regions, from variable locations in the core promoter, and both dependently and independently of tTFIID. These findings set the stage for determining the mechanism by which the TCE regulates testis-specific transcription and understanding the dual role of the TCE in translational and transcriptional regulation.