A mutant dec-1 transgene induces dominant female sterility in Drosophila melanogaster.
The Drosophila dec-1 gene produces three proproteins required for female fertility and eggshell assembly. The three proproteins are distinguished by their C termini. Fc106, the most abundant proprotein, is cleaved within the vitelline membrane to three mature derivatives in a developmentally regulated manner. To define sequences within fc106 that are critical for its function, we created wild-type and mutant versions of an fc106 cDNA transgene. The functional consequences of the mutations were assessed in dec-14, a female-sterile splicing mutant that does not produce the fc106 isoform. The fertility of dec-14 females was restored by the introduction of either a wild-type transgene or a transgene bearing a C-terminal deletion that included fc106-specific sequences. Surprisingly, the removal of internal coding sequences created an aberrant DEC-1 proprotein that induced female sterility when introduced into wild-type flies. Dominant female sterility was not associated with larger deletions that included the fc106 N terminus, suggesting that abnormal juxtaposition of N- and C-terminal sequences in the aberrant proprotein interfered with endogenous DEC-1 proteins. Changes in the fractionation behavior of the endogenous fc106 C-terminal derivative, s60, and morphological changes in the endochorion in response to expression of the aberrant proprotein support this interpretation.
Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, USA.
Daniel K
DK
Spangenberg
Gail L
GL
Waring
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005799:Genes, Dominant; D017344:Genes, Insect; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010063:Ovum / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion
D017931:DNA Primers; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004527:Egg Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C066329:dec-1 protein, Drosophila