- THIS ARTICLE
- Full Text (PDF)
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- SERVICES
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Alert me to new issues of the journal
- Download to citation manager
- Reprints & Permissions
- CITING ARTICLES
- Citing Articles via HighWire
- Citing Articles via Google Scholar
- GOOGLE SCHOLAR
- Articles by Green, L. L.
- Articles by Fuller, M. T.
- Search for Related Content
- PUBMED
- PubMed Citation
- Articles by Green, L. L.
- Articles by Fuller, M. T.
Genetics, Vol 126, 961-973, Copyright © 1990
INVESTIGATIONS |
Two Types of Genetic Interaction Implicate the whirligig Gene of Drosophila melanogaster in Microtubule Organization in the Flagellar Axoneme
L. L. Green, N. Wolf, K. L. McDonald and M. T. Fuller
Present address: Department of Developmental Biology, Beckman Center, B300, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5427.
The mutant nc4 allele of whirligig (3-54.4) of Drosophila melanogaster fails to complement mutations in an {alpha}-tubulin locus, {alpha}1t, mutations in a {beta}-tubulin locus, B2t, or a mutation in the haywire locus. However, wrl fails to map to any of the known {alpha}- or {beta}-tubulin genes. The extragenic failure to complement could indicate that the wrl product participates in structural interactions with microtubule proteins. The whirligig locus appears to be haploinsufficient for male fertility. Both a deficiency of wrl and possible loss of function alleles obtained by reverting the failure to complement between wrl(nc4) and B2t(n) are dominant male sterile in a genetic background wild type for tubulin. The dominant male sterility of the revertant alleles is suppressed if the flies are also heterozygous for B2t(n), for a deficiency of {alpha}1t, or for the hay(nc2) allele. These results suggest that it is not the absolute level of wrl gene product but its level relative to tubulin or microtubule function that is important for normal spermatogenesis. The phenotype of homozygous wrl mutants suggests that the whirligig product plays a role in postmeiotic spermatid differentiation, possibly in organizing the microtubules of the sperm flagellar axoneme. Flies homozygous for either wrl(nc4) or revertant alleles are viable and female fertile but male sterile. Premeiotic and meiotic stages of spermatogenesis appear normal. However, in post-meiotic stages, flagellar axonemes show loss of the accessory microtubule on the B-subfiber of outer doublet microtubules, outer triplet instead of outer doublet microtubules, and missing central pair microtubules.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  H.-C. Wei, J. Rollins, L. Fabian, M. Hayes, G. Polevoy, C. Bazinet, and J. A. Brill Depletion of plasma membrane PtdIns(4,5)P2 reveals essential roles for phosphoinositides in flagellar biogenesis J. Cell Sci., April 1, 2008; 121(7): 1076 - 1084. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. S. Hawley and W. D. Gilliland Sometimes the Result Is Not the Answer: The Truths and the Lies That Come From Using the Complementation Test Genetics, September 1, 2006; 174(1): 5 - 15. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|