title: Combover/CG10732, a novel PCP effector for Drosophila wing hair formation.
abstract: The polarization of cells is essential for the proper functioning of most organs. Planar Cell Polarity (PCP), the polarization within the plane of an epithelium, is perpendicular to apical-basal polarity and established by the non-canonical Wnt/Fz-PCP signaling pathway. Within each tissue, downstream PCP effectors link the signal to tissue specific readouts such as stereocilia orientation in the inner ear and hair follicle orientation in vertebrates or the polarization of ommatidia and wing hairs in Drosophila melanogaster. Specific PCP effectors in the wing such as Multiple wing hairs (Mwh) and Rho Kinase (Rok) are required to position the hair at the correct position and to prevent ectopic actin hairs. In a genome-wide screen in vitro, we identified Combover (Cmb)/CG10732 as a novel Rho kinase substrate. Overexpression of Cmb causes the formation of a multiple hair cell phenotype (MHC), similar to loss of rok and mwh. This MHC phenotype is dominantly enhanced by removal of rok or of other members of the PCP effector gene family. Furthermore, we show that Cmb physically interacts with Mwh, and cmb null mutants suppress the MHC phenotype of mwh alleles. Our data indicate that Cmb is a novel PCP effector that promotes to wing hair formation, a function that is antagonized by Mwh.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jeremy K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Fagan
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gretchen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dollar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Qiuheng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Austen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems & Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pechuan Jorge
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schlosser
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncological Sciences, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Cathie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pfleger
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jenny
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D016764:Cell Polarity; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005838:Genotype; D006197:Hair / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D011485:Protein Binding; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; C000598169:Cmb protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C532921:mwh protein, Drosophila; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases