minibrain: a new protein kinase family involved in postembryonic neurogenesis in Drosophila.
The development of the adult central nervous system of Drosophila requires a precise and reproducible pattern of neuroblast proliferation during postembryonic neurogenesis. We show here that mutations in the minibrain (mnb) gene cause an abnormal spacing of neuroblasts in the outer proliferation center (opc) of larval brain, with the implication that mnb opc neuroblasts produce less neuronal progeny than do wild type. As a consequence, the adult mnb brain exhibits a specific and marked size reduction of the optic lobes and central brain hemispheres. The insufficient number of distinct neurons in mnb brains is correlated with specific abnormalities in visual and olfactory behavior. The mnb gene encodes a novel, cell type-specific serine-threonine protein kinase family that is expressed and required in distinct neuroblast proliferation centers during postembryonic neurogenesis. The mnb kinases share extensive sequence similarities with kinases involved in the regulation of cell division.
Tejedor
F
F
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
Zhu
X R
XR
Kaltenbach
E
E
Ackermann
A
A
Baumann
A
A
Canal
I
I
Heisenberg
M
M
Fischbach
K F
KF
Pongs
O
O
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D017952:Ganglia, Invertebrate / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D000097603:Dyrk Kinases
D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000097603:Dyrk Kinases; C092066:mnb protein, Drosophila