Mutations in the novel membrane protein spinster interfere with programmed cell death and cause neural degeneration in Drosophila melanogaster

Mutations in the spin gene are characterized by an extraordinarily strong rejection behavior of female flies in response to male courtship. They are also accompanied by decreases in the viability, adult life span, and oviposition rate of the flies. In spin mutants, some oocytes and adult neural cells undergo degeneration, which is preceded by reductions in programmed cell death of nurse cells in ovaries and of neurons in the pupal nervous system, respectively. The central nervous system (CNS) of spin mutant flies accumulates autofluorescent lipopigments with characteristics similar to those of lipofuscin. The spin locus generates at least five different transcripts, with only two of these being able to rescue the spin behavioral phenotype; each encodes a protein with multiple membrane-spanning domains that are expressed in both the surface glial cells in the CNS and the follicle cells in the ovaries. Orthologs of the spin gene have also been identified in a number of species from nematodes to humans. Analysis of the spin mutant will give us new insights into neurodegenerative diseases and aging.

Dual-tagging gene trap of novel genes in Drosophila melanogaster

A gene-trap system is established for Drosophila. Unlike the conventional enhancer-trap system, the gene-trap system allows the recovery only of fly lines whose genes are inactivated by a P-element insertion, i.e., mutants. In the gene-trap system, the reporter gene expression reflects precisely the spatial and temporal expression pattern of the trapped gene. Flies in which gene trap occurred are identified by a two-step screening process using two independent markers, mini-w and Gal4, each indicating the integration of the vector downstream of the promoter of a gene (dual tagging). mini-w has its own promoter but lacks a polyadenylation signal. Therefore, mini-w mRNA is transcribed from its own promoter regardless of the vector integration site in the genome. However, the eyes of flies are not orange or red unless the vector is incorporated into a gene enabling mini-w to be spliced to a downstream exon of the host gene and polyadenylated at the 3' end. The promoter-less Gal4 reporter is expressed as a fusion mRNA only when it is integrated downstream of the promoter of a host gene. The exons of trapped genes can be readily cloned by vectorette RT-PCR, followed by RACE and PCR using cDNA libraries. Thus, the dual-tagging gene-trap system provides a means for (i) efficient mutagenesis, (ii) unequivocal identification of genes responsible for mutant phenotypes, (iii) precise detection of expression patterns of trapped genes, and (iv) rapid cloning of trapped genes.

Formation of the male-specific muscle in female Drosophila by ectopic fruitless expression

The Drosophila fruitless (fru) gene product Fru has been postulated to be a neural sex-determination factor that directs the development of at least two male-specific characteristics, namely courtship behaviour and formation of the muscle of Lawrence (MOL). The fru gene encodes a putative transcription factor with a BTB domain and two zinc-finger motifs, and with consensus Tra-binding sequences. The binding of Tra to these sequences results in sex-specific alternative splicing of the fru mRNA, leading to production of the 'male-type' or 'female-type' Fru protein. We show here that the Fru protein is not detected in the female central nervous system (CNS), despite the similar level of expression of fru mRNA in both male and female CNS. As ectopic expression of both the 'male-type' (with the sequence for the amino-terminal extension) and 'female-type' (without the sequence for the amino-terminal extension) fru cDNA can induce formation of the MOL in females, the presence or absence of the Fru protein, and not its sex-specific structure, seems to be responsible for the sexually dimorphic actions of the fru gene.

Fruitless is in the regulatory pathway by which ectopic mini-white and transformer induce bisexual courtship in Drosophila

Bisexual courtship in male Drosophila melanogaster may be induced in some circumstances. These include ectopic expression of the transformer (tra) gene, ectopic expression of the mini-white (mw) gene, and the homozygous presence of mutant alleles of the fruitless (fru) gene. Experiments were performed to determine if ectopic mw and fru, as well as ectopic tra and fru, acted in the same pathway to control courtship. Male flies homozygous for the frusat allele court females little if at all and males at a low level. When homozygous, the frusat allele suppresses the bisexual courtship induced by both ectopic mw and ectopic tra, indicating that the fru wild-type function is necessary for expression of the ectopic mw and ectopic tra effect. This demonstrates that fru shares a pathway controlling courtship behavior with these ectopically expressed genes.

The Drosophila melanogaster 60A chromosomal division is extremely dense with functional genes: their sequences, genomic organization, and expression

We cloned and sequenced genomic DNA contigs spanning over 45 kb, surrounding the insertion site of the P-element that is responsible for the developmental defects in the ken and barbie (ken) mutant of Drosophila. This region harbors 10 functional transcription units, in addition to the already well-characterized TGFbeta-60A gene. These include the genes, undefined 1 (UD1), UD2, and UD3, each coding for proteins of unknown function, the ken gene encoding a new Krüppel-like putative transcription factor, the fly homologues of the mammalian mitochondrial trifunctional enzyme (thiolase), and the TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TBPH), the first nonvertebrate member of the transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) gene, a new homeodomain gene, and a gene coding for a putative nuclear binding protein (PNBP) that is homologous to maleless, and a Copia-like element. UD3 exists in an intron of the maleless homologue, yet is expressed independent of it. The UD1 and TM4SF genes orient in a tail-to-tail manner with their 3' untranslated region sequences overlapping over 44 nucleotides. Thus the partial overlap and intraintronic organization permitted dense packing of the functional genes within a short segment of the genome.

The Drosophila mushroom body is a quadruple structure of clonal units each of which contains a virtually identical set of neurones and glial cells

The mushroom body (MB) is an important centre for higher order sensory integration and learning in insects. To analyse the development and organisation of the MB neuropile in Drosophila, we performed cell lineage analysis in the adult brain with a new technique that combines the Flippase (flp)/FRT system and the GAL4/UAS system. We showed that the four mushroom body neuroblasts (MBNbs) give birth exclusively to the neurones and glial cells of the MB, and that each of the four MBNb clones contributes to the entire MB structure. The expression patterns of 19 GAL4 enhancer-trap strains that mark various subsets of MB cells revealed overlapping cell types in all four of the MBNb lineages. Partial ablation of MBNbs using hydroxyurea showed that each of the four neuroblasts autonomously generates the entire repertoire of the known MB substructures.