The THO complex is required for stress tolerance and longevity in Drosophila

The THO complex is an evolutionary conserved multi-subunit protein complex. Although its role in the formation of export-competent messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) is well established at the single cell level, it is still largely unknown about its specific roles at the multi-cellular organism level. Here we show that Drosophila THO complex is required for normal life span and environmental stress response. Mutant flies defective in the THO complex showed increased susceptibility to certain environmental stresses as well as shortened life span. The increased susceptibility to the environmental stress was suppressed by up-regulating c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, which is a key regulator of environmental stress resistance and longevity. In addition to this, the expression of Drosophila eIF4E binding protein (4E-BP), a target of JNK in stress response, was mis-regulated at the post-transcriptional level in the THO mutants. Taken together, our data suggested that Drosophila THO complex may participate in the environmental stress response by regulating the expression of certain JNK-mediated stress-responsible genes.