RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 <em>Discs large 5</em>, an Essential Gene in <em>Drosophila</em>, Regulates Egg Chamber Organization
JF G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics
FD Genetics Society of America
SP 943
OP 952
DO 10.1534/g3.115.017558
VO 5
IS 5
A1 Reilly, Eve
A1 Changela, Neha
A1 Naryshkina, Tatyana
A1 Deshpande, Girish
A1 Steward, Ruth
YR 2015
UL http://www.g3journal.org/content/5/5/943.abstract
AB Discs large 5 (Dlg5) is a member of the MAGUK family of proteins that typically serve as molecular scaffolds and mediate signaling complex formation and localization. In vertebrates, Dlg5 has been shown to be responsible for polarization of neural progenitors and to associate with Rab11-positive vesicles in epithelial cells. In Drosophila, however, the function of Dlg5 is not well-documented. We have identified dlg5 as an essential gene that shows embryonic lethality. dlg5 embryos display partial loss of primordial germ cells (PGCs) during gonad coalescence between stages 12 and 15 of embryogenesis. Loss of Dlg5 in germline and somatic stem cells in the ovary results in the depletion of both cell lineages. Reduced expression of Dlg5 in the follicle cells of the ovary leads to a number of distinct phenotypes, including defects in egg chamber budding, stalk cell overgrowth, and ectopic polar cell induction. Interestingly, loss of Dlg5 in follicle cells results in abnormal distribution of a critical component of cell adhesion, E-cadherin, shown to be essential for proper organization of egg chambers.