title: An Eye on Trafficking Genes: Identification of Four Eye Color Mutations in Drosophila.
abstract: Genes that code for proteins involved in organelle biogenesis and intracellular trafficking produce products that are critical in normal cell function . Conserved orthologs of these are present in most or all eukaryotes, including Drosophila melanogaster Some of these genes were originally identified as eye color mutants with decreases in both types of pigments found in the fly eye. These criteria were used for identification of such genes, four eye color mutations that are not annotated in the genome sequence: chocolate, maroon, mahogany, and red Malpighian tubules were molecularly mapped and their genome sequences have been evaluated. Mapping was performed using deletion analysis and complementation tests. chocolate is an allele of the VhaAC39-1 gene, which is an ortholog of the Vacuolar H+ATPase AC39 subunit 1. maroon corresponds to the Vps16A gene and its product is part of the HOPS complex, which participates in transport and organelle fusion. red Malpighian tubule is the CG12207 gene, which encodes a protein of unknown function that includes a LysM domain. mahogany is the CG13646 gene, which is predicted to be an amino acid transporter. The strategy of identifying eye color genes based on perturbations in quantities of both types of eye color pigments has proven useful in identifying proteins involved in trafficking and biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles. Mutants of these genes can form the basis of valuable in vivo models to understand these processes.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Paaqua
authors: P
authors: Grant
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 Undergraduate Summer Research Program, Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Tara
authors: T
authors: Maga
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Loshakov
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Rishi
authors: R
authors: Singhal
authors: Undergraduate Summer Research Program, Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Aminah
authors: A
authors: Wali
authors: Undergraduate Summer Research Program, Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Nwankwo
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
authors: Kaitlin
authors: K
authors: Baron
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 dejohnsn@gwu.edu.
authors: Diana
authors: D
authors: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005127:Eye Color / Q000235:genetics*; D050172:Genes, X-Linked; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins
keywords: LysM domain in eukaryotes; genetic analysis; vesicular transporters