The WD40 repeat protein fritz links cytoskeletal planar polarity to frizzled subcellular localization in the Drosophila epidermis.
Much of our understanding of the genetic mechanisms that control planar cell polarity (PCP) in epithelia has derived from studies of the formation of polarized cell hairs during Drosophila wing development. The correct localization of an F-actin prehair to the distal vertex of the pupal wing cell has been shown to be dependent upon the polarized subcellular localization of Frizzled and other core PCP proteins. However, the core PCP proteins do not organize actin cytoskeletal polarity directly but require PCP effector proteins such as Fuzzy and Inturned to mediate this process. Here we describe the characterization of a new PCP effector gene, fritz, that encodes a novel but evolutionarily conserved coiled-coil WD40 protein. We show that the fritz gene product functions cell-autonomously downstream of the core PCP proteins to regulate both the location and the number of wing cell prehair initiation sites.
Collier
Simon
S
Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25755, USA. simon.collier@marshall.edu
Lee
Haeryun
H
Burgess
Rosemary
R
Adler
Paul
P
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003080:Cold Temperature; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism*; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013696:Temperature; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000378:metabolism; D000099274:Frizzled-Related Proteins
D000199:Actins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D006023:Glycoproteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D000099274:Frizzled-Related Proteins; C058784:fz protein, Drosophila