Xenopus BTBD6 and its Drosophila homologue lute are required for neuronal development.
BBP proteins constitute a subclass of CUL3 interacting BTB proteins whose in vivo function remains unknown. Here, we show that the Xenopus BBP gene BTBD6 and the single Drosophila homologue of mammalian BBP genes lute are strongly expressed in the developing nervous system. In Xenopus, BTBD6 expression responds positively to proneural and negatively to neurogenic gene overexpression. Knockdown of BTBD6 in Xenopus or loss of Drosophila lute result in embryos with strong defects in late neuronal markers and strongly reduced and disorganized axons while early neural development is unaffected. XBTBD6 knockdown in Xenopus also affects muscle development. Together, these data indicate that BTBD6/lute is required for proper embryogenesis and plays an essential evolutionary conserved role during neuronal development.
Laboratoire d'Embryologie Moléculaire, IBMM, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium.
Frédéric J
FJ
Bury
Virginie
V
Moers
Jiekun
J
Yan
Jacob
J
Souopgui
Xiao-Jiang
XJ
Quan
Natalie
N
De Geest
Sadia
S
Kricha
Bassem A
BA
Hassan
Eric J
EJ
Bellefroid
D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology*; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
C535208:BTBD6 protein, Xenopus; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D029867:Xenopus Proteins