title: The SLC36 transporter Pathetic is required for extreme dendrite growth in Drosophila sensory neurons.
abstract: Dendrites exhibit enormous diversity in form and can differ in size by several orders of magnitude even in a single animal. However, whether neurons with large dendrite arbors have specialized mechanisms to support their growth demands is unknown. To address this question, we conducted a genetic screen for mutations that differentially affected growth in neurons with different-sized dendrite arbors. From this screen, we identified a mutant that selectively affects dendrite growth in neurons with large dendrite arbors without affecting dendrite growth in neurons with small dendrite arbors or the animal overall. This mutant disrupts a putative amino acid transporter, Pathetic (Path), that localizes to the cell surface and endolysosomal compartments in neurons. Although Path is broadly expressed in neurons and nonneuronal cells, mutation of path impinges on nutrient responses and protein homeostasis specifically in neurons with large dendrite arbors but not in other cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate that specialized molecular mechanisms exist to support growth demands in neurons with large dendrite arbors and define Path as a founding member of this growth program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Wen-Yang
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg D-20251, Germany;
authors.forename: Tatyana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koledachkina
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Kory
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luedke
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bloomsburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg D-20251, Germany;
authors.forename: Kent E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.affiliation: Division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94110, USA.
authors.forename: Charles C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA; jzp2@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Jay Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Parrish
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003712:Dendrites / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D021381:Protein Transport; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C502708:path protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila; dendrite; growth control; transporter