51
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Varadaraj K, Kumari SS, Skinner DM. Actin-encoding cDNAs and gene expression during the intermolt cycle of the Bermuda land crab Gecarcinus lateralis. Gene 1996; 171:177-84. [PMID: 8666269 DOI: 10.1016/0378-1119(96)00018-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Two actin-encoding cDNAs (act1 and act2) from Gecarcinus lateralis have been sequenced or partially sequenced and the corresponding proteins deduced. The act1 cDNA has a complete ORF; the act2 cDNA lacks most of the 5' end of the coding region. The nucleotide (nt) sequences of both clones are very similar to act sequences of many organisms, the most closely related being from another arthropod, the silkmoth Bombyx mori. The proteins Act1 and Act2 are more similar to vertebrate cytoplasmic actin isoforms (beta-actins) than to vertebrate muscle actins (alpha-actins); they are also more similar to animal actins than to those of fungi or plants. Codon usage is strongly biased toward C or G in the third position. The deduced number of amino acid (aa) residues and calculated Mr for Act1 are 376 aa and 41.94 kDa, respectively. The deduced aa sequence of Act1 is very similar to those of muscle actins of B. mori and Drosophila melanogaster. Southern blots indicated seven to eleven act genes in the crab genome. Northern blots probed with a segment from the 3' UTR of act1 showed a single band of approx. 1.6 kb in poly(A)+ mRNAs from epidermis, limb bud or claw muscle and in total RNAs from ovary and gill, and two bands of approx. 1.6 and 1.8 kb in total RNA from midgut gland. Western blots of one-dimensional gels of proteins from the four layers of the exoskeleton, epidermis, limb buds and claw muscle were probed with a monoclonal Ab against chicken gizzard actin; tissue- and stage-specific changes in actin content were observed. The presence of several isoforms, and differences in their number and occurrence at various stages of the intermolt cycle, were detected on Western blots of two-dimensional gels.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Varadaraj
- Biology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831, USA
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52
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Abstract
Adrogenesis, development from paternal but not maternal chromosomes, can be induced to occur in some organisms, including vertebrates, but has only been reported to occur naturally in interspecific hybrids of the Sicilian stick insect. Androgenesis has not been described previously in Drosophila. We now report the recovery of androgenetic offspring from Drosophila melanogaster females mutant for a gene that affects an oocyte- and embryo-specific alpha-tubulin. The androgenetic exceptions are X,X diploid females that develop from haploid embryos and express paternal markers on all 4 chromosomes. The exceptional females arise by fusion of haploid cleavage nuclei or failure of newly replicated haploid chromosomes to segregate, rather than fusion of two inseminating sperm. The frequency of androgenetic offspring is greatly enhanced by a partial loss-of-function mutant of the NCD (nonclaret disjunctional) microtubule motor protein, suggesting that wild-type NCD functions is pronuclear fusion. Diploidization of haploid paternal chromosome complements results in complete genetic homozygosity, which could facilitate studies of gene variation and mutational load in populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Komma
- Department of Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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53
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Margolis J, Spradling A. Identification and behavior of epithelial stem cells in the Drosophila ovary. Development 1995; 121:3797-807. [PMID: 8582289 DOI: 10.1242/dev.121.11.3797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 321] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Throughout their lives, adult Drosophila females continuously produce oocytes, each surrounded by an epithelial monolayer of follicle cells. To characterize the somatic stem cells that give rise to ovarian follicle cells, we marked dividing cells using FLP-catalyzed mitotic recombination and analyzed the resulting clones. Each ovariole in young females contains, on average, two somatic stem cells located near the border of germarium regions 2a and 2b. The somatic stem cells do not coordinate their divisions either with each other or with the germline stem cells. As females age, initially mosaic ovarioles become monoclonal, indicating that functional somatic stem cells have a finite life span. Analysis of agametic flies revealed that somatic cells continue to divide in the absence of a germline. Under these conditions, the somatic stem cells develop near the tip of the ovariole (the normal site of the germline stem cells), and a subpopulation of somatic cells that normally separates the germline and somatic stem cells is missing.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Margolis
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Laboratories, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Embryology, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA
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54
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Fukushige T, Yasuda H, Siddiqui SS. Selective expression of the tba-1 alpha tubulin gene in a set of mechanosensory and motor neurons during the development of Caenorhabditis elegans. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 1995; 1261:401-16. [PMID: 7742369 DOI: 10.1016/0167-4781(95)00028-f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a monoclonal antibody 3A5 raised against Drosophila alpha tubulins selectively stains the nervous system immuno-cytochemically. Direct screening of a C. elegans cDNA expression library with 3A5 has allowed cloning of the tba-1 (tubulin alpha-1) gene from C. elegans. The corresponding genomic DNA encodes a protein of 449 amino acid residues that has a high homology with the vertebrate alpha tubulins but a lower homology with yeast alpha tubulins. Interestingly, the carboxyl-terminus sequence EEEGEEY (Glu-Glu-Glu-Gly-Glu-Glu-Tyr) of the nematode tba-1 encoded isotype is identical to these residues in human, mouse, rat, pig and chicken alpha-1 tubulin isotypes that are expressed in the brain. Temporal and spatial expression studies of the tba-1 gene using Northern blot analysis and tba-1::lacZ fusion gene expression analysis during embryonic and the postembryonic development of C. elegans reveal that the tba-1 tubulin is preferentially expressed in the nematode nervous system, especially in a set of mechanosensory neurons and a set of ventral cord motor neurons (DA, DB, VA, and VB) during embryonic and postembryonic development. Our results indicate an inter-species conservation of the alpha tubulin carboxyl-terminal domain in functionally related brain specific isotypes from metazoans as divergent as mammals and nematodes. These results also suggest specificity of the individual alpha tubulin isotypes during neural development.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Fukushige
- Department of Ecological Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan
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55
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An W, Wensink PC. Integrating sex- and tissue-specific regulation within a single Drosophila enhancer. Genes Dev 1995; 9:256-66. [PMID: 7851798 DOI: 10.1101/gad.9.2.256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the integration of sex- and tissue-specific transcriptional regulation in Drosophila. A single copy of the o-r enhancer from yolk protein genes directs female- and fat body-specific transcription. It consists of four protein-binding sites: dsxA, which binds male (DSXM) and female (DSXF) proteins encoded by the doublesex gene; aef1, which binds the AEF1 repressor; bzip1, which binds the DmC/EBP activator encoded by the slbo gene; and ref1, which binds an unknown activator. Multimeric and mutated binding sites were used in protein binding, germ-line transformation, and genetic experiments to examine the independent and combinatorial activities of the proteins and DNA sites. DSXF activates from dsxA by sterically excluding AEF1 repressor from the aef1 site and synergistically activating transcription together with a protein at bzip1. Sex specificity in fat bodies arises from the opposite effect of DSXM, which represses activity of the protein at bzip1. Tissue specificity is regulated by all four DNA sites. Separately, bzip1 and ref1 activate transcription in ovarian somatic cells and all nongonadal tissues, respectively, whereas together they activate only in fat bodies. The aef1 site represses ectopic transcription in ovaries and dsxA antirepresses this activity in fat bodies. Thus, in the organism, ref1 and bzip1 act combinatorially to direct the fundamental tissue specificity, aef1 and dsxA modulate this tissue specificity, and dsxA adds sex specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- W An
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9110
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56
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Hoyle HD, Hutchens JA, Turner FR, Raff EC. Regulation of beta-tubulin function and expression in Drosophila spermatogenesis. DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS 1995; 16:148-70. [PMID: 7736665 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.1020160208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In this study we examined two aspects of beta-tubulin function in Drosophila spermatogenesis: 1) beta-tubulin structural requirements for assembly of different categories of microtubules and 2) regulatory requirements for production of the correct tubulin protein level. In normal Drosophila spermatogenesis, the testis-specific beta 2-tubulin isoform supports multiple microtubule functions. Our previous work showed that another Drosophila isoform, beta 3, cannot support spermatogenesis, whereas a carboxyl-truncated form of beta 2, beta 2 delta C, can at least to some extent provide all of beta 2's normal functions, save one: beta 2 delta C cannot support organization of axonemal microtubules into the supramolecular architecture of the axoneme. Here, to test whether beta 2 carboxyl sequences can rescue the functional failure of the beta 3 isoform in spermatogenesis, we constructed a gene encoding a chimeric protein, beta 3 beta 2C, in which beta 3 sequences in the carboxyl region are replaced with those of beta 2. Unlike either beta 3 or beta 2 delta C, beta 3 beta 2C can provide partial function for both assembly of axonemal microtubules and their organization into the supramolecular architecture of the axoneme. In particular, the beta 2 carboxyl sequences mediate morphogenesis of the axoneme doublet tubule complex, including accessory microtubule assembly and attachment of spokes and linkers. However, our data also reveal aspects of beta 2-specific function that require structural features other than the primary sequence of the isotype-defining variable regions, the C terminus and the internal variable region. Tests of fecundity in males that coexpress beta 2 and the chimeric beta 3 beta 2C protein showed that in Drosophila there are differential requirements for sperm motility in the male and in the female reproductive tract. Since some aspects of microtubule function in spermatogenesis are sensitive to the tubulin pool size, we examined the mechanisms for control of tubulin protein levels in the male germ cells. We found that both beta 2-tubulin mRNA accumulation and protein synthesis are dependent on gene dose, and that the level of expression is regulated by 3' noncoding sequences in the beta 2 gene. Our data show that the regulatory mechanisms that control tubulin pool levels in the Drosophila male germ line differ from those observed in cultured animal somatic cells. Finally, expression of transgenic constructs is consistent with early cessation of X chromosome expression in Drosophila spermatogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- H D Hoyle
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA
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57
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Cenci G, Bonaccorsi S, Pisano C, Verni F, Gatti M. Chromatin and microtubule organization during premeiotic, meiotic and early postmeiotic stages of Drosophila melanogaster spermatogenesis. J Cell Sci 1994; 107 ( Pt 12):3521-34. [PMID: 7706403 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.107.12.3521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Larval and pupal testes of Drosophila melanogaster were fixed with a methanol/acetone fixation procedure that results in good preservation of cell morphology; fixed cells viewed by phase-contrast optics exhibit most of the structural details that can be seen in live material. Fixed testis preparations were treated with anti-tubulin antibodies and Hoechst 33258 to selectively stain microtubules and DNA. The combined analysis of cell morphology, chromatin and microtubule organization allowed a fine cytological dissection of gonial cell multiplication, spermatocyte development, meiosis and the early stages of spermatid differentiation. We placed special emphasis on the spermatocyte growth phase and the meiotic divisions, providing a description of these processes that is much more detailed than those previously reported. In addition, by means of bromo-deoxyuridine incorporation experiments, we were able to demonstrate that premeiotic DNA synthesis occurs very early during spermatocyte growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Cenci
- Istituto Pasteur, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Roma, Italy
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58
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O'Donnell KH, Wensink PC. GAGA factor and TBF1 bind DNA elements that direct ubiquitous transcription of the Drosophila alpha 1-tubulin gene. Nucleic Acids Res 1994; 22:4712-8. [PMID: 7984422 PMCID: PMC308522 DOI: 10.1093/nar/22.22.4712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Three DNA regions (TE1, TE2 and the intron) regulate the ubiquitous expression of the alpha 1-tubulin gene of Drosophila melanogaster. In this report, we identify two proteins that bind these DNA regions. One is the previously characterized GAGA transcription factor and the other is a newly identified 62 kDa polypeptide, TBF1 (TE1-binding factor 1). Purified GAGA factor binds three sites in TE2 and at least three in the intron. TBF1 was purified from embryos and binds to both TE1 and TE2. Together, the two proteins produce the same DNase I footprints in TE1 and TE2 as does a nuclear extract that transcribes the gene accurately. These footprints cover most of the TE1 and TE2 DNA. Moreover, one binding site for each protein coincides with a site that activates transcription in vitro. The characteristics of the GAGA factor and the genes it regulates suggest roles these two proteins are likely to play in regulating ubiquitous expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- K H O'Donnell
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254-9110
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59
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Insulating DNA directs ubiquitous transcription of the Drosophila melanogaster alpha 1-tubulin gene. Mol Cell Biol 1994. [PMID: 8065369 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.14.9.6398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We identify DNA regions that are necessary for the ubiquitous expression of the Drosophila melanogaster alpha 1-tubulin (alpha 1t) gene. In vitro transcription showed that two upstream regions, tubulin element 1 (TE1 [29 bp]) and tubulin element 2 (TE2 [68 bp]), and a downstream region activate transcription. Germ line transformation demonstrated that these three regions are sufficient to direct the alpha 1t core promoter to begin transcribing at the stage of cellular blastoderm formation and to continue thereafter at high levels in all tissues and developmental stages. Remarkably, mutation of any one of these regions results in high sensitivity to chromosomal position effects, producing different but reproducible tissue-specific patterns of expression in each transformed line. None of these regions behaves as an enhancer in a conventional germ line transformation test. These observations show that these three regions, two of which bind the GAGA transcription factor, act ubiquitously to insulate from position effects and to activate transcription. The results also provide vectors for ubiquitous expression of gene products and for examining silencer activities.
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60
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O'Donnell KH, Chen CT, Wensink PC. Insulating DNA directs ubiquitous transcription of the Drosophila melanogaster alpha 1-tubulin gene. Mol Cell Biol 1994; 14:6398-408. [PMID: 8065369 PMCID: PMC359165 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.14.9.6398-6408.1994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
We identify DNA regions that are necessary for the ubiquitous expression of the Drosophila melanogaster alpha 1-tubulin (alpha 1t) gene. In vitro transcription showed that two upstream regions, tubulin element 1 (TE1 [29 bp]) and tubulin element 2 (TE2 [68 bp]), and a downstream region activate transcription. Germ line transformation demonstrated that these three regions are sufficient to direct the alpha 1t core promoter to begin transcribing at the stage of cellular blastoderm formation and to continue thereafter at high levels in all tissues and developmental stages. Remarkably, mutation of any one of these regions results in high sensitivity to chromosomal position effects, producing different but reproducible tissue-specific patterns of expression in each transformed line. None of these regions behaves as an enhancer in a conventional germ line transformation test. These observations show that these three regions, two of which bind the GAGA transcription factor, act ubiquitously to insulate from position effects and to activate transcription. The results also provide vectors for ubiquitous expression of gene products and for examining silencer activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- K H O'Donnell
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9110
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61
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McGrath KE, Yu SM, Heruth DP, Kelly AA, Gorovsky MA. Regulation and evolution of the single alpha-tubulin gene of the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. CELL MOTILITY AND THE CYTOSKELETON 1994; 27:272-83. [PMID: 8020112 DOI: 10.1002/cm.970270308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The single alpha-tubulin gene of Tetrahymena thermophila was isolated from a genomic library and shown to encode a single protein. Comparisons of the rates of evolution of this gene with other alpha-tubulin sequences revealed that it belongs to a group of more evolutionarily constrained alpha-tubulin proteins in animals, plants, and protozoans versus the group of more rapidly evolving fungal and variant animal alpha-tubulins. The single alpha-tubulin of Tetrahymena must be used in a variety of microtubule structures, and we suggest that equivalently conserved alpha-tubulins in other organisms are evolutionarily constrained because they, too, are multifunctional. Reduced constraints on fungal tubulins are consistent with their simpler microtubule systems. The animal variant alpha-tubulins may also have diverged because of fewer functional requirements or they could be examples of specialized tubulins. To analyze the role of tubulin gene expression in regulation of the complex microtubule system of Tetrahymena, alpha-tubulin mRNA amounts were examined in a number of cell states. Message levels increased in growing versus starved cells and also during early stages of conjugation. These changes were correlated with increases in transcription rates. Additionally, alpha-tubulin mRNA levels oscillate in a cell cycle dependent fashion caused by changes in both transcription and decay rates. Therefore, as in other organisms, Tetrahymena adjusts alpha-tubulin message amounts via message decay. However the complex control of alpha-tubulin mRNA during the Tetrahymena life cycle involves regulation of both decay and transcription rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E McGrath
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, New York 14627
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62
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Affiliation(s)
- M Moritz
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0448, USA
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63
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Matthews KA, Rees D, Kaufman TC. A functionally specialized alpha-tubulin is required for oocyte meiosis and cleavage mitoses in Drosophila. Development 1993; 117:977-91. [PMID: 8325246 DOI: 10.1242/dev.117.3.977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Three alpha-tubulin proteins contribute to microtubules during oogenesis and early embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster: alpha TUB84B, alpha TUB84D, and alpha TUB67C. alpha TUB67C is unique in two respects. It is a structurally divergent alpha-tubulin, sharing only 67% amino acid identity with the generic isotypes alpha TUB84B and alpha TUB84D, and its expression is exclusively maternal. The genetic analysis of the alpha Tub67C gene described here demonstrates that alpha TUB67C is required for nuclear division in the oocyte and early embryo. Both meiosis and cleavage-stage mitoses are severely affected by mutations that result in a substantial decrease in the ratio of alpha TUB67C/alpha TUB84B+alpha TUB84D. A large increase in this ratio, achieved by increasing the gene dosage of alpha Tub67C, has little or no effect on meiosis, but severely disrupts mitotic spindle function. Thus, both classes of alpha-tubulin isotype present in the mature oocyte, alpha TUB67C and alpha TUB84B/84D, are essential for normal spindle function in early Drosophila development. These alpha-tubulins provide the first example of tubulin isotypes known to be coexpressed in wild-type animals whose encoded variation is required for the normal function of a microtubule array.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Matthews
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405
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64
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Theurkauf WE. Behavior of structurally divergent alpha-tubulin isotypes during Drosophila embryogenesis: evidence for post-translational regulation of isotype abundance. Dev Biol 1992; 154:205-17. [PMID: 1426627 DOI: 10.1016/0012-1606(92)90060-t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Two major alpha-tubulin isotypes are present during Drosophila embryogenesis: an evolutionarily divergent maternal isotype that is synthesized only in the ovary and deposited in the oocyte and a highly conserved constitutive isotype that is both maternally supplied and zygotically synthesized. A maternal isotype-specific antibody and a monoclonal antibody that recognizes both the maternal and constitutive isotypes were characterized and used to determine the distribution and abundance of alpha-tubulins during embryogenesis. Both isotypes are abundant and assemble into all classes of microtubules from the syncytial blastoderm stage until completion of germ band retraction. During subsequent development, however, the maternal isotype is retained only in the developing CNS, and later in a subset of connective fibers within the CNS. In contrast, total alpha-tubulin levels remain high in essentially all tissues throughout embryogenesis, indicating that most tissues selectively accumulate the constitutive isotype. To determine if selective accumulation of the constitutive isotype requires zygotic synthesis of this protein, mutant embryos that do not contain functional constitutive alpha-tubulin genes were examined. In these embryos, as in wild type, the maternal isotype decreases to background levels in tissues that retain high levels of the constitutive isotype. The constitutive isotype therefore appears to be more stable than the maternal isotype in most tissues. Differences in isotype stability may play an important role in determining the developmental pattern of isotype accumulation in Drosophila embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- W E Theurkauf
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0448
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65
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Schonbaum CP, Organ EL, Qu S, Cavener DR. The Drosophila melanogaster stranded at second (sas) gene encodes a putative epidermal cell surface receptor required for larval development. Dev Biol 1992; 151:431-45. [PMID: 1339334 DOI: 10.1016/0012-1606(92)90183-h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Several lethal mutations were identified previously in the 84BD interval of the Drosophila melanogaster third chromosome (Lewis et al., 1980; Cavener et al., 1986b). We have examined the l(3)84Cd complementation group and found that mutants exhibit novel cuticular defects and die during larval development. The lethal phase occurs during the first larval molt or subsequently during the second instar larval stage; hence, we have named the gene stranded at second (sas). There are no apparent effects on the rate of development of embryos or first instar larvae. Second instar larvae which survive the molt exhibit a marked reduction in growth and eventually die as small second instar larvae. Incomplete penetrance in some weak sas alleles can yield fertile adults. In addition to the lethal phenotype, a segmentally repeated pattern of tanned spots is found within the ventral setal belts of mutant larvae. The position of the spots is always either between the fourth and fifth row of setae (cuticular projections) or between the first and second row of setae. The spots are adjacent to the muscle attachment sites in the setal belt region. Another common larval phenotype is the abnormal tanning of the ventral surface of the pharynx. The sas gene was cloned, and both the cuticular tanning and the larval lethal phenotypes were complemented by P-element-mediated transformation with a genomic DNA-cDNA construct. Three major sas transcripts are expressed throughout development in cuticle secreting epidermal tissues. The sas transcripts show stage- and tissue-specific patterns of expression with switches in transcript patterns occurring at the molts. The inferred 1348-amino-acid sequence suggests that sas encodes a cell surface protein which functions as a receptor. The putative extracellular region contains four tandem repeats of a cysteine-rich motif which is similar to a cysteine pattern present in procollagen and in thrombospondin. Following this region are at least three copies of a fibronectin type III class repeat. The short (35 amino acids) intracellular domain contains a sequence (NPXY) that has been implicated in endocytosis via coated pits.
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Affiliation(s)
- C P Schonbaum
- Department of Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235
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66
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Abel T, Bhatt R, Maniatis T. A Drosophila CREB/ATF transcriptional activator binds to both fat body- and liver-specific regulatory elements. Genes Dev 1992; 6:466-80. [PMID: 1532159 DOI: 10.1101/gad.6.3.466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We have identified a Drosophila transcription factor that binds to fat body-specific enhancers of alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) and yolk protein genes. DNA sequence analysis of cDNA clones encoding this protein, box B-binding factor-2 (BBF-2), indicates that it is a member of the CREB/ATF family of transcriptional regulatory proteins. A number of observations suggest that BBF-2 is involved in fat body-specific expression: Mutations that disrupt BBF-2 binding to two different Adh fat body enhancers in vitro decrease the activity of these enhancers in transgenic flies. BBF-2 mRNA is present in all cell types examined, and the protein is present in cells that express ADH. Finally, BBF-2 is a transcriptional activator in Drosophila tissue culture cells. Remarkably, BBF-2 also binds specifically to regulatory elements required for liver-specific expression of the human Adh and rat tyrosine aminotransferase genes. Thus, BBF-2 and the DNA sequence to which it binds may be important components of a tissue-specific regulatory mechanism conserved between Drosophila and man.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Abel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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67
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Harrison HH, Joslyn DJ. Gene expression patterns in the black blowfly (Phormia regina) as revealed by two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins. I. Developmental stage-specific and sex-specific differences. Biochem Genet 1991. [DOI: 10.1007/pl00020698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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68
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Harrison HH, Joslyn DJ. Gene expression patterns in the black blowfly (Phormia regina) as revealed by two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins. I. Developmental stage-specific and sex-specific differences. Biochem Genet 1991; 29:559-76. [PMID: 1820021 DOI: 10.1007/bf02426871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The black blowfly, Phormia regina, has been implicated in human myiasis and as a contact vector of viral and bacterial diseases present in carrion to which female flies are attracted for egg deposition. Inbred strains of P. regina are an excellent model system for studying gene expression in the developmental stages of such holometabolous dipteran parasites. However, information regarding gene and protein expression patterns in P. regina is limited. We used ISO-DALT high-resolution, two-dimensional electrophoresis with silver staining to establish fundamental protein maps for examination of the stage-specific gene expression patterns in the 615 most abundant proteins of the eggs, first- and third-instar larvae, pupae, and male and female adults. We also used a differential extraction technique to identify the major cuticular proteins of the adults. The results show 48 clearly identifiable stage-specific and sex-specific proteins. Thus, approximately 8% of the most abundant proteins exhibit developmental changes. These analyses serve as an initial data base for further studies of ontogenetic regulation, organellar origin, and physiologic function of the stage-specific proteins in the life cycle of these opportunistically parasitic dipterans.
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Affiliation(s)
- H H Harrison
- Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Illinois 60637
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69
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Romano CP, Martinez-Cruzado JC, Kafatos FC. The relative importance of transcriptional and post transcriptional regulation of Drosophila chorion gene expression during oogenesis. DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS 1991; 12:196-205. [PMID: 1714363 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.1020120304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
To determine the relative roles of transcriptional and post-transcriptional events in establishing the temporal pattern of chorion gene expression in Drosophila, we have examined chorion gene transcription, RNA accumulation, and protein synthesis in follicles of selected pre-, early-, and late-choriogenic stages. Chorion gene transcription was assayed in follicle cell nuclei by nuclear run-on reactions. For the s15, s16, s18, s36, and s38 chorion genes, the periods of intense transcription are as predicted from the dynamics of RNA accumulation and protein synthesis, indicating that these genes are primarily regulated at the transcriptional level. In contrast, gene s19 appears subject to post-transcriptional control at stage 14, when transcription rates are substantially higher than predicted from the observed RNA levels. Transcription of regions between the clustered and tandemly oriented chorion genes was also examined. In contrast to many RNA polymerase II transcribed genes, for the s18 and s36 chorion genes run-on transcription appears to terminate within about 100 base pairs downstream of the polyadenylation sites, corroborating previous reports based on electron microscopy of s36 [Osheim et al., EMBO J 5:3591-3596, 1986].
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Affiliation(s)
- C P Romano
- Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
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70
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Abstract
In this review, the types of mRNAs found in oocytes and eggs of several animal species, particularly Drosophila, marine invertebrates, frogs, and mice, are described. The roles that proteins derived from these mRNAs play in early development are discussed, and connections between maternally inherited information and embryonic pattern are sought. Comparisons between genetically identified maternally expressed genes in Drosophila and maternal mRNAs biochemically characterized in other species are made when possible. Regulation of the meiotic and early embryonic cell cycles is reviewed, and translational control of maternal mRNA following maturation and/or fertilization is discussed with regard to specific mRNAs.
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71
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Matthews KA, Miller DF, Kaufman TC. Functional implications of the unusual spatial distribution of a minor alpha-tubulin isotype in Drosophila: a common thread among chordotonal ligaments, developing muscle, and testis cyst cells. Dev Biol 1990; 137:171-83. [PMID: 2295363 DOI: 10.1016/0012-1606(90)90018-e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Three of the four alpha-tubulin genes in Drosophila melanogaster are temporally regulated. mRNA from one of these genes, alpha 85E-tubulin, first appears in 6- to 8-hr embryos and persists, with marked fluctuations, through the end of pupal development. In adults, alpha 85E mRNA has been unequivocally identified only in testes. In the present study, isotype-specific antibodies have been used to localize alpha 85E tubulin protein in whole tissues. The results demonstrate a spatially restricted expression pattern of the alpha 85E gene that includes tissues of both ectodermal and mesodermal origins. Specifically, embryonic accumulation of alpha 85E tubulin is limited to support cells of chordotonal organs and the developing musculature of the viscera and body wall. In late third instar larvae, chordotonal organs and a subset of larval nerves, but not muscle, stain with anti-alpha 85E. The timing of protein accumulation during pupal development suggests that alpha 85E tubulin is involved in the construction of the adult as well as the larval musculature. In testis, only the somatically derived cyst cells that surround developing spermatid bundles accumulate alpha 85E-tubulin. The cell types that express alpha 85E share a requirement for extensive cell shape changes during development, suggesting that this minor alpha-tubulin may have distinct functional properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Matthews
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405
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Warn RM, Harrison A, Planques V, Robert-Nicoud N, Wehland J. Distribution of microtubules containing post-translationally modified alpha-tubulin during Drosophila embryogenesis. CELL MOTILITY AND THE CYTOSKELETON 1990; 17:34-45. [PMID: 2121376 DOI: 10.1002/cm.970170106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The distribution of microtubules (MTs) enriched in detyrosinated alpha-tubulin (Glu-tubulin) was studied in Drosophila embryos by immunofluorescence microscopy by using a monoclonal antibody (ID5) which was raised against a 14-residue synthetic peptide spanning the carboxyterminal sequence of Glu-tubulin (Wehland and Weber: J. Cell Sci. 88:185-203, 1987). While all MT arrays contained tyrosinated alpha-tubulin (Tyr-tubulin), MTs rich in Glu-tubulin were not found during early stages of development even by using an image intensification camera. Elevated levels of microtubular Glu-tubulin were first detected after CNS condensation in neurone processes. In addition, sperm tails, which remained remarkably stable inside the embryo until late stages of development, were decorated by ID5. This was in marked contrast to the distribution of microtubule arrays containing acetylated alpha-tubulin, which could already be detected during the cellular blastoderm stage. Additional experiments with taxol suggested that the absence of MTs rich in Glu-tubulin during early stages of development was not due to the rapid turnover rate of MTs, which would be too fast for alpha-tubulin to be detyrosinated. The possible significance of the differential detyrosination and acetylation of microtubules during development is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Warn
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England
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