Abstract
We previously cloned and characterized the Drosophila gene, tincar (tinc), which encodes a novel protein with eight putative transmembrane domains. Here, we have studied the expression pattern and functions of tinc during developmental processes. tinc mRNA is expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and midgut during embryogenesis. In the third-instar larval eye disc, tinc mRNA is strongly expressed in all the differentiating ommatidial cells within and in the vicinity of the morphogenetic furrow. Loss-of-function analysis using the RNA-interference method revealed severe defects of eye morphogenesis during the late developmental stages. Our results suggested that tinc may have an indispensable role in the normal differentiation of ommatidial cells.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Y. Hiromi, the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank and the Bloomington Stock Center for providing us with the flies and antibody, and Toshie Naoi for technical support. This work was supported by grants from the Japan Science and Technology Agency, Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, Culture and Technology, and Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Y.H. was supported by research fellowships from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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Hirota, Y., Sawamoto, K., Takahashi, K. et al. The transmembrane protein, Tincar, is involved in the development of the compound eye in Drosophila melanogaster. Dev Genes Evol 215, 90–96 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-004-0452-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-004-0452-y