RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Altered Levels of Gq Activity Modulate Axonal Pathfinding in<em>Drosophila</em>
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4499
OP 4508
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-11-04499.2002
VO 22
IS 11
A1 Anuradha Ratnaparkhi
A1 Santanu Banerjee
A1 Gaiti Hasan
YR 2002
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/11/4499.abstract
AB A majority of neurons that form the ventral nerve cord send out long axons that cross the midline through anterior or posterior commissures. A smaller fraction extend longitudinally and never cross the midline. The decision to cross the midline is governed by a balance of attractive and repulsive signals. We have explored the role of a G-protein, Gαq, in altering this balance inDrosophila. A splice variant of Gαq,dgqα3, is expressed in early axonal growth cones, which go to form the commissures in theDrosophila embryonic CNS. Misexpression of a gain-of-function transgene of dgqα3(AcGq3) leads to ectopic midline crossing. Analysis of the AcGq3 phenotype in roundabout andfrazzled mutants shows that AcGq3 function is antagonistic to Robo signaling and requires Frazzled to promote ectopic midline crossing. Our results show for the first time that a heterotrimeric G-protein can affect the balance of attractive versus repulsive cues in the growth cone and that it can function as a component of signaling pathways that regulate axonal pathfinding.