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Derailed regulates development of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction
Author(s) -
Liebl Faith L.W.,
Wu Yuping,
Featherstone David E.,
Noordermeer Jaspri.,
Fradkin Lee,
Hing Huey
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.20562
Subject(s) - biology , neuromuscular junction , postsynaptic potential , neuroscience , wnt signaling pathway , synapse , microbiology and biotechnology , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , drosophila melanogaster , signal transduction , receptor , genetics , gene
Neural function is dependent upon the proper formation and development of synapses. We show here that Wnt5 regulates the growth of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) by signaling through the Derailed receptor. Mutations in both wnt5 and drl result in a significant reduction in the number of synaptic boutons. Cell‐type specific rescue experiments show that wnt5 functions in the presynaptic motor neuron while drl likely functions in the postsynaptic muscle cell. Epistatic analyses indicate that drl acts downstream of wnt5 to promote synaptic growth. Structure–function analyses of the Drl protein indicate that normal synaptic growth requires the extracellular Wnt inhibitory factor domain and the intracellular domain, which includes an atypical kinase. Our findings reveal a novel signaling mechanism that regulates morphology of the Drosophila NMJ. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008