LRCH proteins: a novel family of cytoskeletal regulators.
BACKGROUND
Comparative genomics has revealed an unexpected level of conservation for gene products across the evolution of animal species. However, the molecular function of only a few proteins has been investigated experimentally, and the role of many animal proteins still remains unknown. Here we report the characterization of a novel family of evolutionary conserved proteins, which display specific features of cytoskeletal scaffolding proteins, referred to as LRCHs.


RESULTS
Taking advantage of the existence of a single LRCH gene in flies, dLRCH, we explored its function in cultured cells, and show that dLRCH act to stabilize the cell cortex during cell division. dLRCH depletion leads to ectopic cortical blebs and alters positioning of the mitotic spindle. We further examined the consequences of dLRCH deletion throughout development and adult life. Although dLRCH is not essential for cell division in vivo, flies lacking dLRCH display a reduced fertility and fitness, particularly when raised at extreme temperatures.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support the idea that some cytoskeletal regulators are important to buffer environmental variations and ensure the proper execution of basic cellular processes, such as the control of cell shape, under environmental variations.
Foussard
Hélène
H
Université de Toulouse UPS, Centre de Biologie du Développement, Toulouse, France.
Ferrer
Pierre
P
Valenti
Philippe
P
Polesello
Cédric
C
Carreno
Sébastien
S
Payre
François
F
D000818:Animals; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008938:Mitosis; D021381:Protein Transport
D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins
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