Isolation of a putative phospholipase C gene of Drosophila, norpA, and its role in phototransduction

TitleIsolation of a putative phospholipase C gene of Drosophila, norpA, and its role in phototransduction
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1988
AuthorsBloomquist BT, Shortridge RD, Schneuwly S, Perdew M, Montell C, Steller H, Rubin G, Pak WL
JournalCell
Volume54
Pagination723-33
Date Published1988 Aug 26
ISSN0092-8674
KeywordsAmino Acid Sequence, Animals, Base Sequence, Brain, Cattle, Chromosome Mapping, Cloning, Molecular, DNA, DNA Restriction Enzymes, Drosophila melanogaster, Genes, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Photoreceptor Cells, RNA, Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid, Type C Phospholipases
Abstract

Severe norpA mutations in Drosophila eliminate the photoreceptor potential and render the fly completely blind. Recent biochemical analyses have shown that norpA mutants lack phospholipase C (PLC) activity in the eye. A combination of chromosomal walking and transposon-mediated mutagenesis was used to clone the norpA gene. This gene encodes a 7.5 kb RNA that is expressed in the adult head. In situ hybridizations of norpA cDNA to adult tissue sections show that this gene is expressed abundantly in the retina. The putative norpA protein is composed of 1095 amino acid residues and has extensive sequence similarity to a PLC amino acid sequence from bovine brain. We suggest that the norpA gene encodes a PLC expressed in the eye of Drosophila and that PLC is an essential component of the Drosophila phototransduction pathway.

Alternate JournalCell
PubMed ID2457447