Kucherenko, M.M., Pantoja, M., Yatsenko, A.S., Shcherbata, H.R., Fischer, K.A., Maksymiv, D.V., Chernyk, Y.I., Ruohola-Baker, H. (2008). Genetic modifier screens reveal new components that interact with the Drosophila dystroglycan-dystrophin complex.  PLoS ONE 3(6): e2418.

FBrf0205440

Research paper

The Dystroglycan-Dystrophin (Dg-Dys) complex has a capacity to transmit information from the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton inside the cell. It is proposed that this interaction is under tight regulation; however the signaling/regulatory components of Dg-Dys complex remain elusive. Understanding the regulation of the complex is critical since defects in this complex cause muscular dystrophy in humans. To reveal new regulators of the Dg-Dys complex, we used a model organism Drosophila melanogaster and performed genetic interaction screens to identify modifiers of Dg and Dys mutants in Drosophila wing veins. These mutant screens revealed that the Dg-Dys complex interacts with genes involved in muscle function and components of Notch, TGF-beta and EGFR signaling pathways. In addition, components of pathways that are required for cellular and/or axonal migration through cytoskeletal regulation, such as Semaphorin-Plexin, Frazzled-Netrin and Slit-Robo pathways show interactions with Dys and/or Dg. These data suggest that the Dg-Dys complex and the other pathways regulating extracellular information transfer to the cytoskeletal dynamics are more intercalated than previously thought.

PMC2398783 (PMC) (EuropePMC)