title: minidiscs encodes a putative amino acid transporter subunit required non-autonomously for imaginal cell proliferation.
abstract: Drosophila minidiscs mutant larvae have smaller imaginal discs than wild-type larvae. However, transplantation experiments have revealed that minidiscs mutant imaginal discs can grow if cultured in non-mutant hosts. These data suggest that minidiscs is required in one or more non-imaginal tissues for synthesis and/or secretion of a diffusible factor that stimulates imaginal cell proliferation. The 2. 3 kb minidiscs transcript accumulates in the larval fat body and encodes a protein containing 12 putative membrane spanning domains that is similar in sequence to amino acid transporter subunits from other eukaryotes, including humans. We propose that in response to amino acid uptake by the transporter encoded by minidiscs, the fat body secretes a diffusible factor required for imaginal disc proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hersperger
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simcox
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shearn
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000254:growth & development; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D019281:Dimerization; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005216:Fat Body / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007814:Larva; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000637:transplantation
chemical_list: D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems; D000596:Amino Acids; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C542117:Mnd protein, Drosophila