spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif ARCHIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 25 August 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01366

Development 131, 4677-4686 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dev.01366v1
131/19/4677    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Whited, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Garrity, P. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Whited, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by Garrity, P. A.

Dynactin is required to maintain nuclear position within postmitotic Drosophila photoreceptor neurons

Jessica L. Whited, Andre Cassell, Monique Brouillette and Paul A. Garrity*

Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue 68-230B, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: pgarrity{at}mit.edu)

Accepted 14 July 2004

How a nucleus is positioned within a highly polarized postmitotic animal cell is not well understood. In this work, we demonstrate that the Dynactin complex (a regulator of the microtubule motor protein Dynein) is required to maintain the position of the nucleus within post-mitotic Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptor neurons. We show that multiple independent disruptions of Dynactin function cause a relocation of the photoreceptor nucleus toward the brain, and that inhibiting Dynactin causes the photoreceptor to acquire a bipolar appearance with long leading and trailing processes. We find that while the minus-end directed motor Dynein cooperates with Dynactin in positioning the photoreceptor nucleus, the plus-end directed microtubule motor Kinesin acts antagonistically to Dynactin. These data suggest that the maintenance of photoreceptor nuclear position depends on a balance of plus-end and minus-end directed microtubule motor function.

Key words: Nuclear migration, Dynein, Capping protein, Dynamitin, Kinesin




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 DevelopmentHome page
J. L. Whited, M. B. Robichaux, J. C. Yang, and P. A. Garrity
Ptpmeg is required for the proper establishment and maintenance of axon projections in the central brain of Drosophila
Development, January 1, 2007; 134(1): 43 - 53.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 DevelopmentHome page
F. Janody and J. E. Treisman
Actin capping protein {alpha} maintains vestigial-expressing cells within the Drosophila wing disc epithelium
Development, September 1, 2006; 133(17): 3349 - 3357.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Cell. Biol.Home page
A. Pramatarova, P. G. Ochalski, C.-H. Lee, and B. W. Howell
Mouse Disabled 1 Regulates the Nuclear Position of Neurons in a Drosophila Eye Model
Mol. Cell. Biol., February 15, 2006; 26(4): 1510 - 1517.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Biol. CellHome page
Y. Guo, S. Jangi, and M. A. Welte
Organelle-specific Control of Intracellular Transport: Distinctly Targeted Isoforms of the Regulator Klar
Mol. Biol. Cell, March 1, 2005; 16(3): 1406 - 1416.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004