Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

14 p.

Publication Date

11-2007

Publisher

Genetics Society of America

Source Publication

Genetics

Source ISSN

0016-6731

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1534/genetics.107.080168

Abstract

The Drosophila dec-1 gene produces three proproteins required for female fertility and eggshell assembly. The three proproteins are distinguished by their C termini. Fc106, the most abundant proprotein, is cleaved within the vitelline membrane to three mature derivatives in a developmentally regulated manner. To define sequences within fc106 that are critical for its function, we created wild-type and mutant versions of an fc106 cDNA transgene. The functional consequences of the mutations were assessed in dec-14, a female-sterile splicing mutant that does not produce the fc106 isoform. The fertility of dec-14 females was restored by the introduction of either a wild-type transgene or a transgene bearing a C-terminal deletion that included fc106-specific sequences. Surprisingly, the removal of internal coding sequences created an aberrant DEC-1 proprotein that induced female sterility when introduced into wild-type flies. Dominant female sterility was not associated with larger deletions that included the fc106 N terminus, suggesting that abnormal juxtaposition of N- and C-terminal sequences in the aberrant proprotein interfered with endogenous DEC-1 proteins. Changes in the fractionation behavior of the endogenous fc106 C-terminal derivative, s60, and morphological changes in the endochorion in response to expression of the aberrant proprotein support this interpretation.

Comments

Accepted version. Genetics, Vol. 177, No. 3 (November 2007): 1595-1608. DOI. © 2007 by the Genetics Society of America. Used with permission.

Download

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS