Synaptic targets of photoreceptors specialized to detect color and skylight polarization in Drosophila

Color and polarization provide complementary information about the world and are detected by specialized photoreceptors. However, the downstream neural circuits that process these distinct modalities are incompletely understood in any animal. Using electron microscopy, we have systematically reconstructed the synaptic targets of the photoreceptors specialized to detect color and skylight polarization in Drosophila, and we have used light microscopy to confirm many of our findings. We identified known and novel downstream targets that are selective for different wavelengths or polarized light, and followed their projections to other areas in the optic lobes and the central brain. Our results revealed many synapses along the photoreceptor axons between brain regions, new pathways in the optic lobes, and spatially segregated projections to central brain regions. Strikingly, photoreceptors in the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area target fewer cell types, and lack strong connections to the lobula, a neuropil involved in color processing. Our reconstruction identifies shared wiring and modality-specific specializations for color and polarization vision, and provides a comprehensive view of the first steps of the pathways processing color and polarized light inputs

The mating-specific Gα interacts with a kinesin-14 and regulates pheromone-induced nuclear migration in budding yeast

As a budding yeast cell elongates toward its mating partner, cytoplasmic microtubules connect the nucleus to the cell cortex at the growth tip. The Kar3 kinesin-like motor protein is then thought to stimulate plus-end depolymerization of these microtubules, thus drawing the nucleus closer to the site where cell fusion and karyogamy will occur. Here, we show that pheromone stimulates a microtubule-independent interaction between Kar3 and the mating-specific Gα protein Gpa1 and that Gpa1 affects both microtubule orientation and cortical contact. The membrane localization of Gpa1 was found to polarize early in the mating response, at about the same time that the microtubules begin to attach to the incipient growth site. In the absence of Gpa1, microtubules lose contact with the cortex upon shrinking and Kar3 is improperly localized, suggesting that Gpa1 is a cortical anchor for Kar3. We infer that Gpa1 serves as a positional determinant for Kar3-bound microtubule plus ends during mating. © 2009 by The American Society for Cell Biology

Antagonistic regulation of Fus2p nuclear localization by pheromone signaling and the cell cycle

When yeast cells sense mating pheromone, they undergo a characteristic response involving changes in transcription, cell cycle arrest in early G1, and polarization along the pheromone gradient. Cells in G2/M respond to pheromone at the transcriptional level but do not polarize or mate until G1. Fus2p, a key regulator of cell fusion, localizes to the tip of the mating projection during pheromone-induced G1 arrest. Although Fus2p was expressed in G2/M cells after pheromone induction, it accumulated in the nucleus until after cell division. As cells arrested in G1, Fus2p was exported from the nucleus and localized to the nascent tip. Phosphorylation of Fus2p by Fus3p was required for Fus2p export; cyclin/Cdc28p-dependent inhibition of Fus3p during late G1 through S phase was sufficient to block exit. However, during G2/M, when Fus3p was activated by pheromone signaling, Cdc28p activity again blocked Fus2p export. Our results indicate a novel mechanism by which pheromone-induced proteins are regulated during the transition from mitosis to conjugation

Rac1 Dynamics in the Human Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans

The small Rho G-protein Rac1 is highly conserved from fungi to humans, with approximately 65% overall sequence identity in Candida albicans. As observed with human Rac1, we show that C. albicans Rac1 can accumulate in the nucleus, and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) together with fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) studies indicate that this Rho G-protein undergoes nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. Analyses of different chimeras revealed that nuclear accumulation of C. albicans Rac1 requires the NLS-motifs at its carboxyl-terminus, which are blocked by prenylation of the adjacent cysteine residue. Furthermore, we show that C. albicans Rac1 dynamics, both at the plasma membrane and in the nucleus, are dependent on its activation state and in particular that the inactive form accumulates faster in the nucleus. Heterologous expression of human Rac1 in C. albicans also results in nuclear accumulation, yet accumulation is more rapid than that of C. albicans Rac1. Taken together our results indicate that Rac1 nuclear accumulation is an inherent property of this G-protein and suggest that the requirements for its nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling are conserved from fungi to humans

Columnar cells necessary for motion responses of wide-field visual interneurons in Drosophila

Wide-field motion-sensitive neurons in the lobula plate (lobula plate tangential cells, LPTCs) of the fly have been studied for decades. However, it has never been conclusively shown which cells constitute their major presynaptic elements. LPTCs are supposed to be rendered directionally selective by integrating excitatory as well as inhibitory input from many local motion detectors. Based on their stratification in the different layers of the lobula plate, the columnar cells T4 and T5 are likely candidates to provide some of this input. To study their role in motion detection, we performed whole-cell recordings from LPTCs in Drosophila with T4 and T5 cells blocked using two different genetically encoded tools. In these flies, motion responses were abolished, while flicker responses largely remained. We thus demonstrate that T4 and T5 cells indeed represent those columnar cells that provide directionally selective motion information to LPTCs. Contrary to previous assumptions, flicker responses seem to be largely mediated by a third, independent pathway. This work thus represents a further step towards elucidating the complete motion detection circuitry of the fly

Multisite Phosphorylation of the Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Cdc24 during Yeast Cell Polarization

BACKGROUND:Cell polarization is essential for processes such as cell migration and asymmetric cell division. A common regulator of cell polarization in most eukaryotic cells is the conserved Rho GTPase, Cdc42. In budding yeast, Cdc42 is activated by a single guanine nucleotide exchange factor, Cdc24. The mechanistic details of Cdc24 activation at the onset of yeast cell polarization are unclear. Previous studies have suggested an important role for phosphorylation of Cdc24, which may regulate activity or function of the protein, representing a key step in the symmetry breaking process. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here, we directly ask whether multisite phosphorylation of Cdc24 plays a role in its regulation. We identify through mass spectrometry analysis over thirty putative in vivo phosphorylation sites. We first focus on sites matching consensus sequences for cyclin-dependent and p21-activated kinases, two kinase families that have been previously shown to phosphorylate Cdc24. Through site-directed mutagenesis, yeast genetics, and light and fluorescence microscopy, we show that nonphosphorylatable mutations of these consensus sites do not lead to any detectable consequences on growth rate, morphology, kinetics of polarization, or localization of the mutant protein. We do, however, observe a change in the mobility shift of mutant Cdc24 proteins on SDS-PAGE, suggesting that we have indeed perturbed its phosphorylation. Finally, we show that mutation of all identified phosphorylation sites does not cause observable defects in growth rate or morphology. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We conclude that lack of phosphorylation on Cdc24 has no overt functional consequences in budding yeast. Yeast cell polarization may be more tightly regulated by inactivation of Cdc42 by GTPase activating proteins or by alternative methods of Cdc24 regulation, such as conformational changes or oligomerization

Cadherin-Dependent Cell Morphology in an Epithelium: Constructing a Quantitative Dynamical Model

Cells in the Drosophila retina have well-defined morphologies that are attained during tissue morphogenesis. We present a computer simulation of the epithelial tissue in which the global interfacial energy between cells is minimized. Experimental data for both normal cells and mutant cells either lacking or misexpressing the adhesion protein N-cadherin can be explained by a simple model incorporating salient features of morphogenesis that include the timing of N-cadherin expression in cells and its temporal relationship to the remodeling of cell-cell contacts. The simulations reproduce the geometries of wild-type and mutant cells, distinguish features of cadherin dynamics, and emphasize the importance of adhesion protein biogenesis and its timing with respect to cell remodeling. The simulations also indicate that N-cadherin protein is recycled from inactive interfaces to active interfaces, thereby modulating adhesion strengths between cells