The ryanodine receptor is essential for larval development in Drosophila melanogaster.
We have investigated the role of the ryanodine receptor in Drosophila development by using pharmacological and genetic approaches. We identified a P element insertion in the Drosophila ryanodine receptor gene, Ryanodine receptor 44F (Ryr), and used it to generate the hypomorphic allele Ryr(16). An examination of hypodermal, visceral, and circulatory muscle showed that, in each case, muscle contraction was impaired in Ryr(16) larvae. Treatment with the drug ryanodine, a highly specific modulator of ryanodine receptor channel activity, also inhibited muscle function, and, at high levels, completely blocked hypodermal muscle contraction. These results suggest that the ryanodine receptor is required for proper muscle function and may be essential for excitation-contraction coupling in larval body wall muscles. Nonmuscle roles of Ryr were also investigated. Ryanodine-sensitive Ca(2+) stores had previously been implicated in phototransduction; to address this, we generated Ryr(16) mutant clones in the adult eye and performed whole-cell, patch-clamp recordings on dissociated ommatidia. Our results do not support a role for Ryr in normal light responses.
Sullivan
K M
KM
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94702, USA. kmcs@uclink5.berkeley.edu
Scott
K
K
Zuker
C S
CS
Rubin
G M
GM
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007814:Larva; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D024510:Muscle Development; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012433:Ryanodine / Q000494:pharmacology; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel / Q000172:deficiency / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel; D012433:Ryanodine