The SLC36 transporter Pathetic is required for extreme dendrite growth in Drosophila sensory neurons.

ABSTRACT: Dendrites exhibit enormous diversity in form and can differ in size by several orders of magnitude even in a single animal. However, whether neurons with large dendrite arbors have specialized mechanisms to support their growth demands is unknown. To address this question, we conducted a genetic screen for mutations that differentially affected growth in neurons with different-sized dendrite arbors. From this screen, we identified a mutant that selectively affects dendrite growth in neurons with large dendrite arbors without affecting dendrite growth in neurons with small dendrite arbors or the animal overall. This mutant disrupts a putative amino acid transporter, Pathetic (Path), that localizes to the cell surface and endolysosomal compartments in neurons. Although Path is broadly expres

SUBMITTER: Lin WY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4470281 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature