title: Scaling of cytoskeletal organization with cell size inDrosophila.
abstract: Spatially organized macromolecular complexes are essential for cell and tissue function, but the mechanisms that organize micron-scale structures within cells are not well understood. Microtubule-based structures such as mitotic spindles scale with cell size, but less is known about the scaling of actin structures within cells. Actin-rich denticle precursors cover the ventral surface of theDrosophilaembryo and larva and provide templates for cuticular structures involved in larval locomotion. Using quantitative imaging and statistical modeling, we demonstrate that denticle number and spacing scale with cell length over a wide range of cell sizes in embryos and larvae. Denticle number and spacing are reduced under space-limited conditions, and both features robustly scale over a 10-fold increase in cell length during larval growth. We show that the relationship between cell length and denticle spacing can be recapitulated by specific mathematical equations in embryos and larvae and that accurate denticle spacing requires an intact microtubule network and the microtubule minus end-binding protein, Patronin. These results identify a novel mechanism of micro-tubule-dependent actin scaling that maintains precise patterns of actin organization during tissue growth.
authors.affiliation: Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Alison K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and the Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Schaumberg
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065 zallenj@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zallen
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D048429:Cell Size; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D003784:Dental Pulp Calcification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins