Precise temporal regulation of roughest is required for correct salivary gland autophagic cell death in Drosophila.
The Drosophila roughest (rst) locus encodes an immunoglobulin superfamily transmembrane glycoprotein implicated in a variety of embryonic and postembryonic developmental processes. Here we demonstrate a previously unnoticed role for this gene in the autophagic elimination of larval salivary glands during early pupal stages by showing that overexpression of the Rst protein ectodomain in early pupa leads to persistence of salivary glands up to at least 12 hours after head eversion, although with variable penetrance. The same phenotype is observed in individuals carrying the dominant regulatory allele rst(D), but not in loss of function alleles. Analysis of persistent glands at the ultrastructural level showed that programmed cell death starts at the right time but is arrested at an early stage of the process. Finally we describe the expression pattern and intracellular distribution of Rst in wild type and rst(D) mutants, showing that its downregulation in salivary glands at the beginning of pupal stage is an important factor in the correct implementation of the autophagic program of this tissue in space and time.
Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil.
Claudio R
CR
Simon
Livia M R
LM
Moda
Shirlei
S
Octacilio-Silva
Lucas
L
Anhezini
Luciana C H
LC
Machado-Gitai
Ricardo Guelerman P
RG
Ramos
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000235:genetics*; D016923:Cell Death; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; C085209:rst protein, Drosophila