Distribution of tudor protein in the Drosophila embryo suggests separation of functions based on site of localization
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 1993 papers
Abstract
Mutations in the tudor locus of Drosophila affect two distinct determinative processes in embryogenesis; segmentation of the abdomen and determination of the primordial germ cells. The distribution of tudor protein during embryogenesis, and the effect of various mutations on its distribution, suggest that tudor protein may carry out these functions separately, based on its location in the embryo. The protein is concentrated in the posterior pole cytoplasm (germ plasm), where it is found in polar granules and mitochondria. Throughout the rest of the embryo, tudor protein is associated with the cleavage nuclei. Mutations in all maternal genes known to be required for the normal functioning of the germ plasm eliminate the posterior localization of tudor protein, whereas mutations in genes required for the functioning of the abdominal determinant disrupt the localization around nuclei. Analysis of embryos of different maternal genotypes indicates that the average number of pole cells formed is correlated with the amount of tudor protein that accumulates in the germ plasm. Our results suggest that tudor protein localized in the germ plasm is instrumental in germ cell determination, whereas nuclear-associated tudor protein is involved in determination of segmental pattern in the abdomen.
Related Papers
- → Essential role of the posterior morphogen nanos for germline development in Drosophila(1996)304 cited
- → Cytoplasmic Partitioning of P Granule Components Is Not Required to Specify the Germline in C. elegans(2010)130 cited
- → Germ plasm in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila and Xenopus(1998)139 cited
- → Closing the circle of germline and stem cells: the Primordial Stem Cell hypothesis(2013)112 cited
- → The Role of Mitochondrial rRNAs and Nanos Protein in Germline Formation in Drosophila Embryos(2005)17 cited