Sakai, Y., Okamoto, H., Mogami, K., Matsuo, H., Hotta, Y. (1991). Heat shock gene activation by mutant actin is independent of myofibril degeneration in Drosophila muscle.  J. Biochem., Tokyo 109(): 670--673.

FBrf0054319

Research paper

Artificially mutagenized Drosophila Act88F actin genes with triple and double mutations were expressed in the indirect flight muscles of transgenic flies. The triple mutant actin, GD245T (Gly-36----Glu, Glu-83----Asp, and Gly-245----Asp), induced heat shock protein (hsp) synthesis without affecting flight ability. On the other hand, the double mutation, GD245D (Gly-36----Glu and Glu-83----Asp), disrupted myofibrils but induced little hsp synthesis. These results demonstrate that myofibril degeneration is not the primary cause of the anomalous heat shock gene activation by mutant actins.