Genetics, Vol. 164, 1447-1457, August 2003, Copyright © 2003

Scribble Is Essential for Olfactory Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Indrani Gangulya,b, Trudy F. C. Mackaya,b, and Robert R. H. Anholta,b,c
a The W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
b Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
c Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695

Corresponding author: Robert R. H. Anholt, Campus Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7617., anholt{at}ncsu.edu (E-mail)

Communicating editor: K. V. ANDERSON

The ability to discriminate and respond to chemical signals from the environment is an almost universal prerequisite for survival. Here, we report that the scaffold protein Scribble is essential for odor-guided behavior in Drosophila. Previously, we identified a P-element insert line with generalized sexually dimorphic smell impairment, smi97B. We found that the transposon in this line is located between the predicted promoter region and the transcription initiation site of scrib. A deficiency in this region, Df(3R)Tl-X, and two scrib null alleles fail to complement the smell-impaired phenotype of smi97B. Wild-type behavior is restored by precise excision of the P element, scrib mRNA levels correspond with mutant and wild-type phenotypes, and introduction of a full-length scrib transgene in the smi97B mutant rescues the olfactory deficit. Expression of Scrib is widespread in olfactory organs and the central nervous system. Finally, alternative splicing of scrib generates transcripts that differ in the number of leucine-rich repeats and PDZ domains.




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