Motility screen identifies Drosophila IGF-II mRNA-binding protein--zipcode-binding protein acting in oogenesis and synaptogenesis.

ABSTRACT: The localization of specific mRNAs can establish local protein gradients that generate and control the development of cellular asymmetries. While all evidence underscores the importance of the cytoskeleton in the transport and localization of RNAs, we have limited knowledge of how these events are regulated. Using a visual screen for motile proteins in a collection of GFP protein trap lines, we identified the Drosophila IGF-II mRNA-binding protein (Imp), an ortholog of Xenopus Vg1 RNA binding protein and chicken zipcode-binding protein. In Drosophila, Imp is part of a large, RNase-sensitive complex that is enriched in two polarized cell types, the developing oocyte and the neuron. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy, we establish that both dynein and kinesin contribute to the transport of

SUBMITTER: Boylan KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2242817 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature