Yantar, a conserved arginine-rich protein is involved in Drosophila hemocyte development.
To identify novel factors involved in Drosophila hematopoiesis, we screened a collection of lethal recessive mutations that also affected normal hemocyte composition in larvae. We present the characterization of the gene yantar (ytr) for which we isolated null and hypomorphic mutations that were associated with severe defects in hemocyte differentiation and proliferation; ytr is predominantly expressed in the hematopoietic tissue during larval development and encodes an evolutionary conserved protein which is predominantly localized in the nucleus. The hematopoietic phenotype in ytr mutants is consistent with a defect or block in differentiation of precursor hemocytes: mutant larvae have enlarged lymph glands (LGs) and have an excess of circulating hemocytes. In addition, many cells exhibit both lamellocyte and crystal cell markers. Ytr function has been preserved in evolution as hematopoietic specific expression of the Drosophila or mouse Ytr proteins rescue the differentiation defects in mutant hemocytes.
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. sergey_sinenko@dfci.harvard.edu
Sergey A
SA
Sinenko
Eun Kyung
EK
Kim
Rhoda
R
Wynn
Pascal
P
Manfruelli
Istvan
I
Ando
Kristi A
KA
Wharton
Norbert
N
Perrimon
Bernard
B
Mathey-Prevot
D016475:3T3 Cells; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D017931:DNA Primers; D004330:Drosophila / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000166:cytology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D017931:DNA Primers; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C492560:ytr protein, Drosophila