The Drosophila formin DAAM regulates the tracheal cuticle pattern through organizing the actin cytoskeleton

• Published in: Development (Cambridge) Vol. 133; no. 5; pp. 957 - 966
• Main Authors: Matusek, Tamás, Djiane, Alexandre, Jankovics, Ferenc, Brunner, Damian, Mlodzik, Marek, Mihály, József
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Company of Biologists Limited 01.03.2006
• Subjects: Actins - metabolism; Actins - ultrastructure; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing - analysis; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing - genetics; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing - metabolism; Animals; Body Patterning - genetics; Cytoskeleton - metabolism; Cytoskeleton - ultrastructure; Drosophila; Drosophila - embryology; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila - metabolism; Drosophila Proteins - analysis; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; Mutation; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins pp60(c-src) - metabolism; rho GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Trachea - chemistry; Trachea - embryology; Trachea - metabolism
• ISSN: 0950-1991; 1477-9129
• DOI: 10.1242/dev.02266

Formins are involved in a wide range of cellular processes that require the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. Here, we have analyzed a novel Drosophila formin, belonging to the recently described DAAM subfamily. In contrast to previous assumptions, we show that DAAM plays no essential role in planar cell polarity signaling, but it has striking requirements in organizing apical actin cables that define the taenidial fold pattern of the tracheal cuticle. These observations provide evidence the first time that the function of the taenidial organization is to prevent the collapse of the tracheal tubes. Our results indicate that although DAAM is regulated by RhoA , it functions upstream or parallel to the non-receptor tyrosine kinases Src42A and Tec29 to organize the actin cytoskeleton and to determine the cuticle pattern of the Drosophila respiratory system.