Characterisation of the role of Vrp1 in cell fusion during the development of visceral muscle of Drosophila melanogaster

Background  

In Drosophila muscle cell fusion takes place both during the formation of the somatic mesoderm and the visceral mesoderm, giving rise to the skeletal muscles and the gut musculature respectively. The core process of myoblast fusion is believed to be similar for both organs. The actin cytoskeleton regulator Verprolin acts by binding to WASP, which in turn binds to the Arp2/3 complex and thus activates actin polymerization. While Verprolin has been shown to be important for somatic muscle cell fusion, the function of this protein in visceral muscle fusion has not been determined.