Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on September 9, 2008.

Genetics, Vol. 180, 835-843, October 2008, Copyright © 2008
doi:10.1534/genetics.108.093492

{gamma}Tub23C Interacts Genetically With Brahma Chromatin-Remodeling Complexes in Drosophila melanogaster

Martha Vázquez*,1, Monica T. Cooper{dagger}, Mario Zurita* and James A. Kennison{dagger}

* Departamento de Fisiología Molecular y Genética del Desarrollo, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62250, México and {dagger} Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

1 Corresponding author: Departamento de Fisiología Molecular y Genética del Desarrollo, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Av. Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62250, México.
E-mail: mvazquez{at}ibt.unam.mx

The brahma gene encodes the catalytic subunit of the Drosophila melanogaster BRM chromatin-remodeling complexes. Screening for mutations that interact with brahma, we isolated the dominant-negative Pearl-2 allele of {gamma}Tub23C. {gamma}Tub23C encodes one of the two {gamma}-tubulin isoforms in Drosophila and is essential for zygotic viability and normal adult patterning. {gamma}-Tubulin is a subunit of microtubule organizer complexes. We show that mutations in lethal (1) discs degenerate 4, which encodes the Grip91 subunit of microtubule organizer complexes, suppress the recessive lethality and the imaginal phenotypes caused by {gamma}Tub23C mutations. The genetic interactions between {gamma}Tub23C and chromatin-remodeling mutations suggest that {gamma}-tubulin might have a role in regulating gene expression.


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Genetics 2008 180: NP. [Full Text]