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Function of Drosophila mob2 in photoreceptor morphogenesis

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Abstract

The Drosophila photoreceptor is a highly polarized cell; a mature photoreceptor cell in Drosophila contains a photosensitive structure (the rhabdomere) and a supporting membrane (stalk) at its apical membrane. In a screen to isolate genes involved in determining stalk and rhabdomere formation, this study has identified the Drosophila mob2 (Dmob2) gene. Dmob2 belongs to a Mob1/phocein domain protein family whose functions are involved in polarized cell growth and asymmetric cell fate determination in yeast. To study the role of Dmob2 in photoreceptor development, we have raised an antibody against the Dmob2 protein. An immunocytochemical study has shown that Dmob2 is mainly localized in the apical membrane of photoreceptor cells during early development. As development proceeds, Dmob2 is gradually confined to the rhabdomere base of the photoreceptor cells. RNA interference (RNAi) for knockdown Dmob2 expression during eye development impairs rhabdomere formation. Our study further shows that the subcellular localization of phosphorylated Moesin and Crumbs in the developing photoreceptor cell is disrupted in Dmob2 RNAi flies. This work thus reports a novel function of Dmob2 in photoreceptor cell development.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank C.T. Chien, R. Carthew, D.F. Ready, U. Tepass, the Bloomington Stock Center, the Szeged Drosophila Stock Center and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank for stocks and antibodies. We also thank H. Sun and C.P. Hu for their assistance in microinjection and antibody production, respectively. We are grateful to Y. W. Liu and Y. J. Tsai for their comments and discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Science, Tunghai University, No. 181, Sec. 3, Taichung-Kan Road, Taichung, 407, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Ling-Yu Liu, Cheng-Han Lin & Seng-Sheen Fan

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  1. Ling-Yu Liu
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  2. Cheng-Han Lin
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  3. Seng-Sheen Fan
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Correspondence to Seng-Sheen Fan.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan, Republic of China (NSC 94-2311-B-029-003 and NSC 95-2311-B-029-005-MY3 to S.-S.F.).

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Liu, LY., Lin, CH. & Fan, SS. Function of Drosophila mob2 in photoreceptor morphogenesis. Cell Tissue Res 338, 377–389 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-009-0878-7

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