Drosophila melanogaster paramyosin : developmental pattern, mapping and properties deduced from its complete coding sequence

The function of the M-line protein obscurin in controlling the symmetry of the sarcomere in the flight muscle of Drosophila

Obscurin (also known as Unc-89 in Drosophila) is a large modular protein in the M-line of Drosophila muscles. Drosophila obscurin is similar to the nematode protein UNC-89. Four isoforms are found in the muscles of adult flies: two in the indirect flight muscle (IFM) and two in other muscles. A fifth isoform is found in the larva. The larger IFM isoform has all the domains that were predicted from the gene sequence. Obscurin is in the M-line throughout development of the embryo, larva and pupa. Using P-element mutant flies and RNAi knockdown flies, we have investigated the effect of decreased obscurin expression on the structure of the sarcomere. Embryos, larvae and pupae developed normally. In the pupa, however, the IFM was affected. Although the Z-disc was normal, the H-zone was misaligned. Adults were unable to fly and the structure of the IFM was irregular: M-lines were missing and H-zones misplaced or absent. Isolated thick filaments were asymmetrical, with bare zones that were shifted away from the middle of the filaments. In the sarcomere, the length and polarity of thin filaments depends on the symmetry of adjacent thick filaments; shifted bare zones resulted in abnormally long or short thin filaments. We conclude that obscurin in the IFM is necessary for the development of a symmetrical sarcomere in Drosophila IFM.

Invertebrate Muscles: Muscle Specific Genes and Proteins

This is the first of a projected series of canonic reviews covering all invertebrate muscle literature prior to 2005 and covers muscle genes and proteins except those involved in excitation-contraction coupling (e.g., the ryanodine receptor) and those forming ligand- and voltage-dependent channels. Two themes are of primary importance. The first is the evolutionary antiquity of muscle proteins. Actin, myosin, and tropomyosin (at least, the presence of other muscle proteins in these organisms has not been examined) exist in muscle-like cells in Radiata, and almost all muscle proteins are present across Bilateria, implying that the first Bilaterian had a complete, or near-complete, complement of present-day muscle proteins. The second is the extraordinary diversity of protein isoforms and genetic mechanisms for producing them. This rich diversity suggests that studying invertebrate muscle proteins and genes can be usefully applied to resolve phylogenetic relationships and to understand protein assembly coevolution. Fully achieving these goals, however, will require examination of a much broader range of species than has been heretofore performed.

Overexpression of miniparamyosin causes muscle dysfunction and age-dependant myofibril degeneration in the indirect flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster

Miniparamyosin (mPM) is a protein of invertebrate muscle thick filaments. Its similarity to paramyosin (PM) suggests that it regulates thick filament and myofibril assembly. To determine its role in muscle structure and function we overexpressed mPM in muscles of Drosophila melanogaster. Surprisingly, myofibrils accumulating excess mPM assemble nearly normally, with thick filament electron density and sarcomere length unaffected. Myofibrils in some indirect flight muscle groups are misaligned and young flies exhibit a moderate level of flight impairment. This phenotype is exacerbated with age. Transgenic flies undergo progressive myofibril deterioration that increases flight muscle dysfunction. Our observations indicate that the correct stoichiometry of mPM is important for maintenance of myofibril integrity and for the proper function of the flight musculature.

Alternative poly(A) site selection in complex transcription units: means to an end?

Many genes have been described and characterized which result in alternative polyadenylation site use at the 3'-end of their mRNAs based on the cellular environment. In this survey and summary article 95 genes are discussed in which alternative polyadenylation is a consequence of tandem arrays of poly(A) signals within a single 3'-untranslated region. An additional 31 genes are described in which polyadenylation at a promoter-proximal site competes with a splicing reaction to influence expression of multiple mRNAs. Some have a composite internal/terminal exon which can be differentially processed. Others contain alternative 3'-terminal exons, the first of which can be skipped in some cells. In some cases the mRNAs formed from these three classes of genes are differentially processed from the primary transcript during the cell cycle or in a tissue-specific or developmentally specific pattern. Immunoglobulin heavy chain genes have composite exons; regulated production of two different Ig mRNAs has been shown to involve B cell stage-specific changes in trans -acting factors involved in formation of the active polyadenylation complex. Changes in the activity of some of these same factors occur during viral infection and take-over of the cellular machinery, suggesting the potential applicability of at least some aspects of the Ig model. The differential expression of a number of genes that undergo alternative poly(A) site choice or polyadenylation/splicing competition could be regulated at the level of amounts and activities of either generic or tissue-specific polyadenylation factors and/or splicing factors.

Immunocytochemical electron microscopic study and western blot analysis of myosin, paramyosin and miniparamyosin in the striated muscle of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and in obliquely striated and smooth muscles of the earthworm Eisenia foetida

Miniparamyosin is a paramyosin isoform (55-60 kDa) that has been isolated in insects (Drosophila) and immunolocalized in several species of arthropods, molluscs, annelids and nematodes. In this study, the presence and distribution of this protein, in comparison with that of paramyosin and myosin, has been examined in the striated muscle (tergal depressor of trochanter) of Drosophila melanogaster, and the obliquely striated muscle (body wall) and the smooth muscle (outer layer of the pseudoheart) of the earthworm Eisenia foetida by means of immunocytochemical electron microscopic study and Western blot analysis miniparamyosin paramyosin and myosin antibodies from Drosophila. In the striated muscle of D. melanogaster, the three proteins were immunolocalized along the length of the thick filaments (A-bands). The distribution of immunogold particles along these filaments was uniform. The relative proportions miniparamyosin/paramyosin/myosin (calculated by counting the number of immunogold particles) were: 1/10/68. In the obliquely striated muscle of E. foetida, immunoreactions to the three proteins were also found in the thick filaments, and the relative proportions miniparamyosin/paramyosin/myosin were 1/2.4/6.9. However, whereas the distribution of both myosin and miniparamyosin along the thick filament length was uniform, paramyosin immunolabelling was more abundant in the extremes of thick filaments (the outer zones of A-bands in the obliquely striated muscle), where the thick filaments become thinner than in the centre (the central zone of A-bands), where these filaments are thicker. The relative proportions of paramyosin in the outer and of paramyosin in the central zones of A-bands were 4/1. This irregular distribution of paramyosin along the thick filament length might be actual but it may also be explained by the fusiform shape of thick filaments in the earthworm: assuming that paramyosin is covered by myosin, paramyosin antigens would be more exposed in the tips than in the centre of thick filaments. If miniparamyosin is, in turn, covered by paramyosin, the exposure of miniparamyosin antigens would be low even in the tips of thick filaments, and this might explain the scanty immunoreaction observed for this protein and the absence of a higher number of immunogold particles in the extremes of thick filaments. The distribution of the three proteins in the earthworm smooth muscle was as in the obliquely striated muscle, although the proportions miniparamyosin/paramyosin/myosin were 1/1.5/5.2; this is, immunoreactions to paramyosin and miniparamyosin were lower than in the obliquely striated muscle.

Drosophila paramyosin/miniparamyosin gene products show a large diversity in quantity, localization, and isoform pattern: a possible role in muscle maturation and function

The Drosophila paramyosin/miniparamyosin gene expresses two products of different molecular weight transcriptionally regulated from two different promoters. Distinct muscle types also have different relative amounts of myosin, paramyosin, and miniparamyosin, reflecting differences in the organization of their thick filaments. Immunofluorescence and EM data indicate that miniparamyosin is mainly located in the M line and at both ends of the thick filaments in Drosophila indirect flight muscles, while paramyosin is present all along the thick filaments. In the tergal depressor of the trochanter muscle, both proteins are distributed all along the A band. In contrast, in the waterbug, Lethocerus, both paramyosin and miniparamyosin are distributed along the length of the indirect flight and leg muscle thick filaments. Two-dimensional and one-dimensional Western blot analyses have revealed that miniparamyosin has several isoforms, focusing over a very wide pH range, all of which are phosphorylated in vivo. The changes in isoform patterns of miniparamyosin and paramyosin indicate a direct or indirect involvement of these proteins in muscle function and flight. This wide spectrum of potential regulatory characteristics underlines the key importance of paramyosin/miniparamyosin and its complex isoform pattern in the organization of the invertebrate thick filament.

Analysis of the paramyosin/miniparamyosin gene. Miniparamyosin is an independently transcribed, distinct paramyosin isoform, widely distributed in invertebrates

Miniparamyosin, a distinct Drosophila melanogaster paramyosin isoform of 60 kDa, is shown here to be encoded by the same gene as paramyosin. The gene, located at 66D14, spans over 12.8 kilobases (kb) and is organized into 10 exons, 9 of which code for the paramyosin transcripts. An exon, located between exons 7 and 8, codes for the 5'-end of the miniparamyosin, and the two proteins share the two last exons of the gene. Mapping of the 5'-ends of these transcripts indicates that the paramyosin and miniparamyosin mRNAs arise from two overlapping transcriptional units; the miniparamyosin transcription initiation site is located inside a paramyosin intron, 8 kb downstream of the one used for paramyosin transcription. The existence of two different promoters and the conserved and nonconserved features of their sequences suggest a very complex regulation of these two muscle proteins. In fact, while paramyosin is expressed at two distinct stages of development as most other Drosophila muscle proteins, miniparamyosin appears late in development, being present only in the adult musculature. The absence of exon 1B, the specific exon of miniparamyosin, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as additional lines of evidence support the lack of miniparamyosin in this particular organism. However, it is present in most invertebrate species examined, including different arthropod, annelid, mollusc, and echinoderm species.

Molecular cloning of a gene expressed during early embryonic development in Onchocerca volvulus

Little attention has been paid to the reproductive biology of filarial nematode parasites as a possible target for immunological or chemotherapeutic intervention. An interruption of the reproductive process would, in addition to breaking the cycle of transmission, reduce the morbidity associated with certain filarial infections. As part of our efforts to define molecules that have important functions during filarial embryogenesis, antibodies against embryo-associated proteins were used to identify a 6308-bp cDNA sequence (ovt1) from an Onchocerca volvulus cDNA expression library. The ovt1 cDNA contained an open reading frame that coded for 2022 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly hydrophilic, alpha-helical in nature and included two leucine zipper domains. OVT1 also contained a single Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) site. The results of Southern blot analyses demonstrated that an ovt1-like gene occurs in a number of different species of filarial nematodes. In situ hybridization experiments to identify tissues that contain ovt1 transcripts showed that ovt1 was transcribed at high levels in the late morula/early blastocyst stage of embryonic development. Transcripts for ovt1 were also detected in O. volvulus larvae and in the hypodermal cells of adult parasites. Two fragments of ovt1 were expressed as fusion proteins and the fusion proteins were used to produce antibodies in rabbits. Both antibodies recognized a native protein with an apparent molecular mass of 230 kDa in extracts from gravid female O. volvulus. In addition, the antibodies reacted with a restricted number of lower-molecular mass bands which may represent the products of post-transcriptional or post-translational processing. The predicted coiled-coil structure and the sites of transcription suggest that OVT1 may be a component of the extracellular matrix.

Calphotin: a Drosophila photoreceptor cell calcium-binding protein

Monoclonal antibody 23E9 identifies a calcium-binding protein, calphotin, in photoreceptor cells of the Drosophila melanogaster compound eyes and ocelli. The antigen is restricted to a defined cytoplasmic region; it is not present in the rhabdomeres, nuclei, mitochondria, or rough endoplasmic reticulum. A corresponding cDNA recognizes a 3-kb mRNA with retinal specificity similar to the antigen and maps to band 86E/F-87A/B on chromosome 3. An open reading frame of 2595 bp encodes an estimated 85-kDa protein of unusual amino acid composition, with > 50% proline, alanine, and valine and very few basic residues. The C-terminal segment contains a leucine zipper motif uninterrupted by prolines. We found no significant similarities with the GenBank or National Biomedical Resource Foundation data bases. The location of the protein within a distinct cytoplasmic region suggests that it might function as a calcium-sequestering "sponge" to regulate the amount of free cytoplasmic calcium.