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Molecular characterization of Pegarn: a Drosophila homolog of UNC-51 kinase

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Abstract

We have isolated and characterized the gene encoding a Drosophila melanogaster homolog of Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-51 (uncoordinated movement-51): Pegarn. Developmental Northern blot shows the Pegarn gene is expressed at all stages of development. The protein is detected throughout the Drosophila third instar larval central nervous system (CNS) in axons projecting out from the ventral ganglion and in the optic anlagen of the optic lobe. Heterozygous Pegarn mutant embryos show defects in larval axonal neuronal patterning, but survive to adulthood. Homozygous mutants have an even more deformed pattern of neuronal development and do not survive through the larval stages. The data from this research suggest the critical roles of Pegarn in CNS and PNS axonal formation in Drosophila melanogaster and indicates its similar role in other multicellular species.

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Acknowledgments

The monoclonal antibodies, 22C10 and BP102, developed by Corey Goodman and Seymour Benzer, were obtained from the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank developed under the auspices of the NICHD and maintained by the University of Iowa, Department of Biological Sciences, Iowa City, IA 52242. EP fly lines were obtained from the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center at Indiana University. This work was supported by NIH MBRS grant GM008194. I.B. Terrazas, C.T. Garcia, and J.J. Narzarian were supported by the MBRS program. NIH GM 60655.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 North Loop 1604W, San Antonio, TX, 78249, USA

    A. Ahantarig, L. V. Chadwell, I. B. Terrazas, C. T. Garcia, J. J. Nazarian, H. K. Lee, M. J. Lundell & J. A. Cassill

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama 6 Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

    A. Ahantarig

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  1. A. Ahantarig
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  2. L. V. Chadwell
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Correspondence to A. Ahantarig.

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Ahantarig, A., Chadwell, L.V., Terrazas, I.B. et al. Molecular characterization of Pegarn: a Drosophila homolog of UNC-51 kinase. Mol Biol Rep 36, 1311–1321 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9314-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9314-4

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