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A study of Drosophila spinster expression and its functions during embryogenesis

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Abstract

During the development of the Drosophila nervous system, the programmed cell death (PCD) regulates the cell number. The spinster (spin) encodes a multiple transmembrane protein and females showed a strong rejection response against the courting males. Mutation in spin interferes with the PCD of neurons, which subsequently induce the degeneration of adult neural cells. However, this spin functions has not been investigated yet during embryogenesis. In this study we first examined spin expression in detail and its function during embryonic development. Spin was primarily expressed in surface glial cells, including subperineurial glial cells and exit glia, but not in neural cells. In spin loss-of-function mutant embryos, Glial cells increased in number, and neural overgrowth occurred. In spin gain-of-function mutant embryos, PNS was predominantly degenerated at late embryonic stages. These results indicate that spin is involved in neurogenesis via cell death during embryogenesis.

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Abbreviations

Spin:

Spinster

PCD:

Programmed cell death

LGB:

Longitudinal glioblast

VNC:

Ventral nerve cord

ePG:

Embryonic peripheral glia

UAS:

Upstream activation sequence

ISN:

Intersegmental nerve

SN:

Segmental nerve

CNS:

Central nervous system

PNS:

Peripheral nervous system

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. G.W. Davis for providing spin mutant fly stocks. We also thank Korea Basic Science Institute Chuncheon center for technical assistance in using the confocal and scanning electron microscope. This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(700-20100094).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology Education, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Republic of Korea

    Ki-Seok Park & Sang-Hak Jeon

  2. Department of Chemistry, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea

    Sang Hee Kim

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  1. Ki-Seok Park
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Correspondence to Sang-Hak Jeon.

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Park, KS., Kim, S.H. & Jeon, SH. A study of Drosophila spinster expression and its functions during embryogenesis. Genes Genom 36, 671–682 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-014-0219-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-014-0219-4

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