title: U bodies respond to nutrient stress in Drosophila.
abstract: The neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by mutation of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. Cytoplasmic SMN protein-containing granules, known as U snRNP bodies (U bodies), are thought to be responsible for the assembly and storage of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) which are essential for pre-mRNA splicing. U bodies exhibit close association with cytoplasmic processing bodies (P bodies), which are involved in mRNA decay and translational repression. The close association of the U body and P body in Drosophila resemble that of the stress granule and P body in yeast and mammalian cells. However, it is unknown whether the U body is responsive to any stress. Using Drosophila oogenesis as a model, here we show that U bodies increase in size following nutritional deprivation. Despite nutritional stress, U bodies maintain their close association with P bodies. Our results show that U bodies are responsive to nutrition changes, presumably through the U body-P body pathway.
authors.affiliation: MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QX, UK.
authors.forename: Mickey
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buckingham
authors.forename: Ji-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism*; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D012322:RNA Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012326:RNA Splicing / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D012322:RNA Precursors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear; C542563:Smn protein, Drosophila