The transmembrane protein, Tincar, is involved in the development of the compound eye in Drosophila melanogaster.
We previously cloned and characterized the Drosophila gene, tincar (tinc), which encodes a novel protein with eight putative transmembrane domains. Here, we have studied the expression pattern and functions of tinc during developmental processes. tinc mRNA is expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and midgut during embryogenesis. In the third-instar larval eye disc, tinc mRNA is strongly expressed in all the differentiating ommatidial cells within and in the vicinity of the morphogenetic furrow. Loss-of-function analysis using the RNA-interference method revealed severe defects of eye morphogenesis during the late developmental stages. Our results suggested that tinc may have an indispensable role in the normal differentiation of ommatidial cells.
Hirota
Yuki
Y
Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Sawamoto
Kazunobu
K
Takahashi
Kuniaki
K
Ueda
Ryu
R
Okano
Hideyuki
H
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D005123:Eye / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C472859:tinc protein, Drosophila