Movement of calmodulin between cells in the ovary and embryo of drosophila

✍ Scribed by Bernard F. Andruss; Clare Bolduc; Kathy Beckingham

• Book ID: 102843581
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 508 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1526-954X
• DOI: 10.1002/gene.20002

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Summary: Calmodulin (CaM) is an essential component of calcium signaling in multicellular organisms. We used null mutations of the Drosophila CaM gene (Cam) in combination with clonal analysis and immunolocalization to examine the effects of loss of Cam function in the ovarian germline and developing embryo. These studies have uncovered unexpected and striking movements of CaM protein within these tissues. In the ovary, evidence for transfer of CaM from an external source, across plasma membranes, into the germline cells was obtained. In late embryogenesis, maternally derived CaM protein relocalizes dramatically within the nervous system of both wildtype and Cam null embryos‐a process that may also involve movement across cell membranes. These findings indicate dynamic, unsuspected elements to the in vivo functions of CaM in the whole organism. genesis 38:93–103, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.