Deficient protein kinase C activity in turnip, a Drosophila learning mutant.
The Drosophila mutant turnip was initially isolated based on poor learning performance (Quinn, W.G., Sziber, P.P., and Booker, R. (1979) Nature 277, 212-214). Here we show that turnip is dramatically reduced in protein kinase C (PKC) activity. In addition, turnip flies are deficient in phosphorylation of a 76-kDa head membrane protein (hereafter pp76) which is a major substrate for protein kinase C in homogenates of wild-type flies. Reduced PKC activity, defective pp76 phosphorylation, and most of turnip's learning deficiency co-map genetically to a region on the X-chromosome, 18A5-18D1-2, spanned by the deletion Df(1)JA27. Apparently turnip+ is not a structural gene for PKC because Drosophila PKC genes map elsewhere in the genome. Our results suggest that turnip gene product is required for activation of PKC and that PKC plays a role in associative learning in Drosophila.
Choi
K W
KW
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Smith
R F
RF
Buratowski
R M
RM
Quinn
W G
WG
D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004330:Drosophila / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005796:Genes; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism*; D014960:X Chromosome
D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011493:Protein Kinase C