A flagellar polycystin-2 homolog required for male fertility in Drosophila

TitleA flagellar polycystin-2 homolog required for male fertility in Drosophila
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsWatnick TJ, Jin Y, Matunis E, Kernan MJ, Montell C
JournalCurr Biol
Volume13
Pagination2179-84
Date Published2003 Dec 16
ISSN0960-9822
KeywordsAmino Acid Sequence, Animals, Blotting, Western, Cell Movement, Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila Proteins, Flagella, Infertility, Male, Male, Membrane Proteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sequence Alignment, Spermatozoa, TRPP Cation Channels
Abstract

A common inherited cause of renal failure, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease results from mutations in either of two genes, PKD1 and PKD2, which encode polycystin-1 and polycystin-2, respectively. Polycystin-2 has distant homology to TRP cation channels and associates directly with polycystin-1. The normal functions of polycystins are poorly understood, although recent studies indicate that they are concentrated in the primary cilia of a variety of cell types. In this report we identified a polycystin-2 homolog in Drosophila melanogaster; this homolog localized to the distal tip of the sperm flagella. A targeted mutation in this gene, almost there (amo), caused nearly complete male sterility. The amo males produced and transferred normal amounts of motile sperm to females, but mutant sperm failed to enter the female sperm storage organs, a prerequisite for fertilization. The finding that Amo functions in sperm flagella supports a common and evolutionarily conserved role for polycystin-2 proteins in both motile and nonmotile axonemal-containing structures.

Alternate JournalCurr. Biol.
PubMed ID14680634
Grant ListEY 10852 / EY / NEI NIH HHS / United States
K08 DK 02562 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
P50 DK 57325 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
R01 DC002780 / DC / NIDCD NIH HHS / United States