Mutation of TweedleD, a member of an unconventional cuticle protein family, alters body shape in Drosophila

Body shape determination represents a critical aspect of morphogenesis. In the course of investigating body shape regulation in Drosophila, we have identified a dominant mutation, TweedleD¹ (TwdlD¹), that alters overall dimensions at the larval and pupal stages. Characterization of the affected locu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2006-11, Vol.103 (45), p.16794-16799
Main Authors: Guan, X, Middlebrooks, B.W, Alexander, S, Wasserman, S.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Biological Sciences
Caenorhabditis elegans
Chromosome Mapping
Drosophila
Drosophila - embryology
Drosophila - genetics
Drosophila - growth & development
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila Proteins - genetics
Family members
Female
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Genes
Genes, Insect
Genetic mutation
In Situ Hybridization
insect cuticle
Insect larvae
insect morphology
insect proteins
Insects
Instars
Larva - growth & development
larvae
Larval development
Male
Molecular Sequence Data
morphogenesis
Morphogenesis - genetics
Multigene Family
mutants
Mutation
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Proteins
Pupa - growth & development
Pupae
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Tweedle proteins
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Summary:Body shape determination represents a critical aspect of morphogenesis. In the course of investigating body shape regulation in Drosophila, we have identified a dominant mutation, TweedleD¹ (TwdlD¹), that alters overall dimensions at the larval and pupal stages. Characterization of the affected locus led to the discovery of a gene family that has 27 members in Drosophila and is found only among insects. Analysis of gene expression at the RNA and protein levels revealed gene-specific temporal and spatial patterns in ectodermally derived tissues. In addition, light microscopic studies of fluorescently tagged proteins demonstrated that Tweedle proteins are incorporated into larval cuticular structures. This demonstration that a mutation in a Drosophila cuticular protein gene alters overall morphology confirms a role for the fly exoskeleton in determining body shape. Furthermore, parallels between these findings and studies of cuticle collagen genes in Caenorhabditis elegans suggest that the exoskeleton influences body shape in diverse organisms.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0607616103