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Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Edwards, KA; Montague, RA; Shepard, S; Edgar, BA; Erikson, RL; Kiehart, DP
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
May 1994

To clone metazoan genes encoding regulators of cell shape, we have developed a functional assay for proteins that affect the morphology of a simple organism, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. A Drosophila melanogaster cDNA library was constructed in an inducible expression vector and transformed into S. pombe. When expression of the Drosophila sequences was induced, aberrant cell shapes were found in 0.2% of the transformed colonies. Four severe phenotypes representing defects in cytokinesis and/or cell shape maintenance were examined further. Each displayed drastic and specific reorganizations of the actin cytoskeleton. Three of the cDNAs responsible for these defects appear to encode cytoskeletal components: the actin binding proteins profilin and cofilin/actin depolymerizing factor and a membrane-cytoskeleton linker of the ezrin/merlin family. These results demonstrate that a yeast phenotypic screen efficiently identifies conserved genes from more complex organisms and sheds light on their potential in vivo functions.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 1994

Volume

91

Issue

10

Start / End Page

4589 / 4593

Related Subject Headings

  • Vertebrates
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Schizosaccharomyces
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Microfilament Proteins
  • Humans
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Gene Library
  • Drosophila melanogaster
 

Citation

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Edwards, K. A., Montague, R. A., Shepard, S., Edgar, B. A., Erikson, R. L., & Kiehart, D. P. (1994). Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91(10), 4589–4593. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.91.10.4589
Edwards, K. A., R. A. Montague, S. Shepard, B. A. Edgar, R. L. Erikson, and D. P. Kiehart. “Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 91, no. 10 (May 1994): 4589–93. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.91.10.4589.
Edwards KA, Montague RA, Shepard S, Edgar BA, Erikson RL, Kiehart DP. Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1994 May;91(10):4589–93.
Edwards, K. A., et al. “Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 91, no. 10, May 1994, pp. 4589–93. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.91.10.4589.
Edwards KA, Montague RA, Shepard S, Edgar BA, Erikson RL, Kiehart DP. Identification of Drosophila cytoskeletal proteins by induction of abnormal cell shape in fission yeast. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1994 May;91(10):4589–4593.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 1994

Volume

91

Issue

10

Start / End Page

4589 / 4593

Related Subject Headings

  • Vertebrates
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Schizosaccharomyces
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Microfilament Proteins
  • Humans
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Gene Library
  • Drosophila melanogaster