Drosophila Dystrophin is required for integrity of the musculature

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene and is characterized by progressive muscle wasting. The highly conserved dystrophin gene encodes a number of protein isoforms. The Dystrophin protein is part of a large protein assembly, the Dystrophin glycoprotein complex, which stabilizes the muscle membrane during contraction and acts as a scaffold for signaling molecules. How the absence of Dystrophin results in the onset of muscular dystrophy remains unclear. Here, we have used transgenic RNA interference to examine the roles of the Drosophila Dystrophin isoforms in muscle. We previously reported that one of the Drosophila Dystrophin orthologs, the DLP2 isoform, is not required to maintain muscle integrity, but plays a role in neuromuscular homeostasis by regulating neurotransmitter release. In this report, we show that reduction of all Dystrophin isoform expression levels in the musculature does not apparently affect myogenesis or muscle attachment, but results in progressive muscle degeneration in larvae and adult flies. We find that a recently identified Dystrophin isoform, Dp117, is expressed in the musculature and is required for muscle integrity. Muscle fibers with reduced levels of Dp117 display disorganized actin-myosin filaments and the cellular hallmarks of necrosis. Our results indicate the existence of at least two possibly separate roles of dystrophin in muscle, maintaining synaptic homeostasis and preserving the structural stability of the muscle.     

The Drosophila gamma-tubulin small complex subunit Dgrip84 is required for structural and functional integrity of the spindle apparatus

Gamma-tubulin, a protein critical for microtubule assembly, functions within multiprotein complexes. However, little is known about the respective role of gamma-tubulin partners in metazoans. For the first time in a multicellular organism, we have investigated the function of Dgrip84, the Drosophila orthologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae gamma-tubulin-associated protein Spc97p. Mutant analysis shows that Dgrip84 is essential for viability. Its depletion promotes a moderate increase in the mitotic index, correlated with the appearance of monopolar or unpolarized spindles, impairment of centrosome maturation, and increase of polyploid nuclei. This in vivo study is strengthened by an RNA interference approach in cultured S2 cells. Electron microscopy analysis suggests that monopolar spindles might result from a failure of centrosome separation and an unusual microtubule assembly pathway via centriolar triplets. Moreover, we point to an involvement of Dgrip84 in the spindle checkpoint regulation and in the maintenance of interphase microtubule dynamics. Dgrip84 also seems essential for male meiosis, ensuring spindle bipolarity and correct completion of cytokinesis. These data sustain that Dgrip84 is required in some aspects of microtubule dynamics and organization both in interphase and mitosis. The nature of a minimal gamma-tubulin complex necessary for proper microtubule organization in the metazoans is discussed.     

Nessun Dorma, a novel centralspindlin partner, is required for cytokinesis in Drosophila spermatocytes

Cytokinesis, the final step of cell division, usually ends with the abscission of the two daughter cells. In some tissues, however, daughter cells never completely separate and remain interconnected by intercellular bridges or ring canals. In this paper, we report the identification and analysis of a novel ring canal component, Nessun Dorma (Nesd), isolated as an evolutionarily conserved partner of the centralspindlin complex, a key regulator of cytokinesis. Nesd contains a pectin lyase-like domain found in proteins that bind to polysaccharides, and we present evidence that it has high affinity for β-galactosides in vitro. Moreover, nesd is an essential gene in Drosophila melanogaster, in which it is required for completion of cytokinesis during male meiosis and possibly in female germline cells. Our findings indicate that Nesd is a novel carbohydrate-binding protein that functions together with centralspindlin in late cytokinesis, thus highlighting the importance of glycosylation in this process.     

Atg38 is required for autophagy-specific phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex integrity

Autophagy is a conserved eukaryotic process of protein and organelle self-degradation within the vacuole/lysosome. Autophagy is characterized by the formation of an autophagosome, for which Vps34-dervied phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) is essential. In yeast, Vps34 forms two distinct protein complexes: complex I, which functions in autophagy, and complex II, which is involved in protein sorting to the vacuole. Here we identify and characterize Atg38 as a stably associated subunit of complex I. In atg38Δ cells, autophagic activity was significantly reduced and PI3-kinase complex I dissociated into the Vps15–Vps34 and Atg14–Vps30 subcomplexes. We find that Atg38 physically interacted with Atg14 and Vps34 via its N terminus. Further biochemical analyses revealed that Atg38 homodimerizes through its C terminus and that this homodimer formation is indispensable for the integrity of complex I. These data suggest that the homodimer of Atg38 functions as a physical linkage between the Vps15–Vps34 and Atg14–Vps30 subcomplexes to facilitate complex I formation.     

Net1, a Sir2-associated nucleolar protein required for rDNA silencing and nucleolar integrity

The Sir2 protein mediates gene silencing and repression of recombination at the rDNA repeats in budding yeast. Here we show that Sir2 executes these functions as a component of a nucleolar complex designated RENT (regulator of nucleolar silencing and telophase exit). Net1, a core subunit of this complex, preferentially cross-links to the rDNA repeats, but not to silent DNA regions near telomeres or to active genes, and tethers the RENT complex to rDNA. Net1 is furthermore required for rDNA silencing and nucleolar integrity. During interphase, Net1 and Sir2 colocalize to a subdomain within the nucleous, but at the end of mitosis a fraction of Sir2 leaves the nucleolus and disperses as foci throughout the nucleus, suggesting that the structure of rDNA silent chromatin changes during the cell cycle. Our findings suggest that a protein complex shown to regulate exit from mitosis is also involved in gene silencing.     

PIP2 hydrolysis and calcium release are required for cytokinesis in Drosophila spermatocytes

The role of calcium (Ca(2+)) in cytokinesis is controversial, and the precise pathways that lead to its release during cleavage are not well understood. Ca(2+) is released from intracellular stores by binding of inositol trisphosphate (IP3) to the IP3 receptor (IP3R), yet no clear role in cytokinesis has been established for the precursor of IP3, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2). Here, using transgenic flies expressing PLCdelta-PH-GFP, which specifically binds PIP2, we identify PIP2 in the plasma membrane and cleavage furrows of dividing Drosophila melanogaster spermatocytes, and we establish that this phospholipid is required for continued ingression but not for initiation of cytokinesis. In addition, by inhibiting phospholipase C, we show that PIP2 must be hydrolyzed to maintain cleavage furrow stability. Using an IP3R antagonist and a Ca(2+) chelator to examine the roles of IP3R and Ca(2+) in cytokinesis, we demonstrate that both of these factors are required for cleavage furrow stability, although Ca(2+) is dispensable for cleavage plane specification and initiation of furrowing. Strikingly, providing cells with Ca(2+) obviates the need to hydrolyze PIP2. Thus, PIP2, PIP2 hydrolysis, and Ca(2+) are required for the normal progression of cytokinesis in these cells.     

The slender lobes gene, identified by retarded mushroom body development, is required for proper nucleolar organization in Drosophila

The nucleolus dynamically alters its shape through the assembly and disassembly of a variety of nucleolar components in proliferating cells. While the nucleolus is known to function in vital cellular events, little is known about how its components are correctly assembled. Through the analysis of a Drosophila mutant that exhibits a reduced number of mushroom body (MB) neurons in the brain, we reveal that the slender lobes (sle) gene encodes a novel nuclear protein that affects nucleolar organization during development. In sle mutant neuroblasts, the nucleolus was packed more tightly, forming a dense sphere, and the nucleolar proteins fibrillarin and Nop60B were abnormally distributed in the interphase nucleolus. Moreover, another nucleolar marker, Aj1 antigen, was localized to the center of the nucleolus in a manner complementary to the Nop60B distribution, and also formed a large aggregate in the cytoplasm. While developmental defects were limited to a few tissues in sle mutants, including MBs and nurse cells, the altered organization of the nucleolar components were evident in most developing tissues. Therefore, we conclude that Sle is a general factor of nuclear architecture in Drosophila that is required for the correct organization of the nucleolus during development.     

The fission yeast ran GTPase is required for microtubule integrity

The microtubule cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in cytoplasmic organization, cell division, and the correct transmission of genetic information. In a screen designed to identify fission yeast genes required for chromosome segregation, we identified a strain that carries a point mutation in the SpRan GTPase. Ran is an evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic GTPase that directly participates in nucleocytoplasmic transport and whose loss affects many biological processes. Recently a transport-independent effect of Ran on spindle formation in vitro was demonstrated, but the in vivo relevance of these findings was unclear. Here, we report the characterization of a Schizosaccharomyces pombe Ran GTPase partial loss of function mutant in which nucleocytoplasmic protein transport is normal, but the microtubule cytoskeleton is defective, resulting in chromosome missegregation and abnormal cell shape. These abnormalities are exacerbated by microtubule destabilizing drugs, by loss of the spindle checkpoint protein Mph1p, and by mutations in the spindle pole body component Cut11p, indicating that SpRan influences microtubule integrity. As the SpRan mutant phenotype can be partially suppressed by the presence of extra Mal3p, we suggest that SpRan plays a role in microtubule stability.     

Cytoplasmic dynein-dynactin complex is required for spermatid growth but not axoneme assembly in Drosophila

Spermatids derived from a single gonial cell remain interconnected within a cyst and elongate by synchronized growth inside the testis in Drosophila. Cylindrical spectrin-rich elongation cones form at their distal ends during the growth. The mechanism underlying this process is poorly understood. We found that developing sperm tails were abnormally coiled at the growing ends inside the cysts in the Drosophila Dynein light chain 1 (ddlc1) hemizygous mutant testis. A quantitative assay showed that average number of elongation cones was reduced, they were increasingly deformed, and average cyst lengths were shortened in ddlc1 hemizygous testes. These phenotypes were further enhanced by additional partial reduction of Dhc64C and Glued and rescued by Myc-PIN/LC8 expression in the gonial cells in ddlc1 backgrounds. Furthermore, DDLC1, DHC, and GLUED were enriched at the distal ends of growing spermatids. Finally, ultrastructure analysis of ddlc1 testes revealed abnormally formed interspermatid membrane, but the 9 + 2 microtubule organization, the radial spoke structures, and the Dynein arms of the axoneme were normal. Together, these findings suggest that axoneme assembly and spermatid growth involve independent mechanisms in Drosophila and DDLC1 interacts with the Dynein-Dynactin complex at the distal ends of spermatids to maintain the spectrin cytoskeleton assembly and cell growth.     

Histone methylation is required for oogenesis in Drosophila

SET domain proteins are histone lysine methyltransferases (HMTs) that play essential roles in development. Here we show for the first time that histone methylation occurs in both the germ cells and somatic cells of the Drosophila ovary, and demonstrate in vivo that an HMT, the product of the eggless (egg) gene, is required for oogenesis. Egg is a SET domain protein that is similar to the human protein SETDB1 and its mouse ortholog ESET. These proteins are members of a small family of HMTs that contain bifurcated SET domains. Because depletion of SETDB1 in tissue culture cells is cell-lethal, and an ESET mutation causes very early periimplantation embryonic arrest, the role of SETDB1/ESET in development has proven difficult to address. We show that egg is required in the Drosophila ovary for trimethylation of histone H3 at its K9 residue. In females bearing an egg allele that deletes the SET domain, oogenesis arrests at early stages. This arrest is accompanied by reduced proliferation of somatic cells required for egg chamber formation, and by apoptosis in both germ and somatic cell populations. We propose that other closely related SET domain proteins may function similarly in gametogenesis in other species.     

The interaction of two tethering factors, p115 and COG complex, is required for Golgi integrity

The vesicle-tethering protein p115 functions in endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi trafficking. We explored the function of homologous region 2 (HR2) of the p115 head domain that is highly homologous with the yeast counterpart, Uso1p. By expression of p115 mutants in p115 knockdown (KD) cells, we found that deletion of HR2 caused an irregular assembly of the Golgi, which consisted of a cluster of mini-stacked Golgi fragments, and gathered around microtubule-organizing center in a microtubule-dependent manner. Protein interaction analyses revealed that p115 HR2 interacted with Cog2, a subunit of the conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex that is known another putative cis-Golgi vesicle-tethering factor. The interaction between p115 and Cog2 was found to be essential for Golgi ribbon reformation after the disruption of the ribbon by p115 KD or brefeldin A treatment and recovery by re-expression of p115 or drug wash out, respectively. The interaction occurred only in interphase cells and not in mitotic cells. These results strongly suggested that p115 plays an important role in the biogenesis and maintenance of the Golgi by interacting with the COG complex on the cis-Golgi in vesicular trafficking.     

The wingless gene is required for embryonic brain development in Drosophila

 We have studied the role of the wingless gene in embryonic brain development of Drosophila. wingless is expressed in a large domain in the anlage of the protocerebrum and also transiently in smaller domains in the anlagen of the deutocerebrum and tritocerebrum. Elimination of the wingless gene in null mutants has dramatic effects on the developing protocerebrum; although initially generated, approximately one half of the protocerebrum is deleted in wingless null mutants by apoptotic cell death at late embryonic stages. Using temperature sensitive mutants, a rescue of the mutant phenotype can be achieved by stage-specific expression of functional wingless protein during embryonic stages 9–10. This time period correlates with that of neuroblast specification but preceeds the generation and subsequent loss of protocerebral neurons. Ectopic wingless over-expression in gain-of-function mutants results in dramatically oversized CNS. We conclude that wingless is required for the development of the anterior protocerebral brain region in Drosophila. We propose that an important role of wingless in this part of the developing brain is the determination of neural cell fate. Received: 7 October 1997 / Accepted: 30 December 1997     

Septate junctions are required for ommatidial integrity and blood-eye barrier function in Drosophila

The anatomical organization of the Drosophila ommatidia is achieved by specification and contextual placement of photoreceptors, cone and pigment cells. The photoreceptors must be sealed from high ionic concentrations of the hemolymph by a barrier to allow phototransduction. In vertebrates, a blood-retinal barrier (BRB) is established by tight junctions (TJs) present in the retinal pigment epithelium and endothelial membrane of the retinal vessels. In Drosophila ommatidia, the junctional organization and barrier formation is poorly understood. Here we report that septate junctions (SJs), the vertebrate analogs of TJs, are present in the adult ommatidia and are formed between and among the cone and pigment cells. We show that the localization of Neurexin IV (Nrx IV), a SJ-specific protein, coincides with the location of SJs in the cone and pigment cells. Somatic mosaic analysis of nrx IV null mutants shows that loss of Nrx IV leads to defects in ommatidial morphology and integrity. nrx IV hypomorphic allelic combinations generated viable adults with defective SJs and displayed a compromised blood-eye barrier (BEB) function. These findings establish that SJs are essential for ommatidial integrity and in creating a BEB around the ion and light sensitive photoreceptors. Our studies may provide clues towards understanding the vertebrate BEB formation and function.