Andlauer, T.F., Scholz-Kornehl, S., Tian, R., Kirchner, M., Babikir, H.A., Depner, H., Loll, B., Quentin, C., Gupta, V.K., Holt, M.G., Dipt, S., Cressy, M., Wahl, M.C., Fiala, A., Selbach, M., Schwärzel, M., Sigrist, S.J. (2014). Drep-2 is a novel synaptic protein important for learning and memory.  eLife 3(): e03895.

FBrf0226773

Research paper

CIDE-N domains mediate interactions between the DNase Dff40/CAD and its inhibitor Dff45/ICAD. In this study, we report that the CIDE-N protein Drep-2 is a novel synaptic protein important for learning and behavioral adaptation. Drep-2 was found at synapses throughout the Drosophila brain and was strongly enriched at mushroom body input synapses. It was required within Kenyon cells for normal olfactory short- and intermediate-term memory. Drep-2 colocalized with metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Chronic pharmacological stimulation of mGluRs compensated for drep-2 learning deficits, and drep-2 and mGluR learning phenotypes behaved non-additively, suggesting that Drep 2 might be involved in effective mGluR signaling. In fact, Drosophila fragile X protein mutants, shown to benefit from attenuation of mGluR signaling, profited from the elimination of drep-2. Thus, Drep-2 is a novel regulatory synaptic factor, probably intersecting with metabotropic signaling and translational regulation.

PMC4229683 (PMC) (EuropePMC)