Thèses sur le sujet « G proteins ; Drosophila »

xiii, 48 p. : (col. ill.) A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: SCIENCE QL537.D76 N57 2007
Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is a unique mechanism employed during development to achieve cellular diversity from a small number of progenitor cells. Cells undergoing ACD distribute factors for self-renewal at the apical cortex and factors for differentiation at the basal cortex. It is critical for proper development that the mitotic spindle be tightly coupled to this axis of polarization such that both sets of proteins are exclusively segregated into the daughter cells. We use ACD in Drosophila neuroblasts as a model system for understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern spindle-cortical coupling. Neuroblasts polarize Partner of Inscuteable (Pins), Gαi and Mushroom Body Defect (Mud) at the apical cell cortex during mitosis. Gαi and Pins are required for establishing cortical polarity while Mud is essential for spindle-cortical alignment. Gαi and Mud interact through Pins GoLoco domains and tetratricopeptide repeats (TPR) respectively, however it is unclear how Mud activity is integrated with Pins and Gαi to link neuroblast cortical polarity to the mitotic spindle. This dissertation describes how Pins interactions with Gαi and Mud regulate Iwo fundamental aspects of neuroblast ACD: cortical polarity and alignment of the spindle with the resulting polarity axis. I demonstrate that Pins is a dynamic scaffolding protein that undergoes a GoLoco-TPR intramolecular interaction, resulting in a conformation of Pins with low Mud and reduced Gαi binding affinity. However, Pins TPR domains fail to completely repress Gαi binding, as a single GoLoco is unaffected by the intramolecular isomerization. Gαi present at the apical cortex specifies Pins localization through binding this "unregulated" GoLoco. Liberation of Pins intramolecularly coupled state occurs through cooperative binding of Gαi and Mud to the other GoLoco and TPR domains, creating a high-affinity Gαi-Pins-Mud complex. This autoregulatory mechanism spatially confines the Pins-Mud interaction to the apical cortex and facilitates proper apical-spindle orientation. In conclusion, these results suggest Gαi induces multiple Pins states to both properly localize Pins and ensure tight coupling between apical polarity and mitotic spindle alignment.
Adviser: Ken Prehoda

High visual sensitivity is a common but important characteristic of animal eyes. It is especially critical for night vision. In animal eyes, photoreceptors are the first to receive the incoming rays of light and they convert the light signals to electrical signals before passing the information to interneurons in the eye and finally to the brain. To function in dim light conditions, photoreceptors have developed high sensitivities to light. It is reported that both mammalian rod photoreceptors and Drosophilaphotoreceptors can detect single photons. The high sensitivities of photoreceptors largely depend on a high content of rhodopsin, a light-stimulated G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), in light sensory organelles, outer segments in mammals and rhabdomeres in Drosophila. Two shared characteristics, the tightly packed photoreceptive membrane and the high concentration of rhodopsin in the membrane, work together to enable the photoreceptors to achieve the high content of rhodopsin in photosensory organelles in both mammals and Drosophila. In this thesis, I have used the Drosophilaeye as a model system to study the molecular mechanisms required for the maintenance of these two characteristics. In the second chapter, I present a new molecular mechanism of preventing Gq-mediated rhabdomeral degeneration. A new gene named tadr (for torn and diminished rhabdomeres), when mutated, leads to visual sensitivity reduction and photoreceptor degeneration. Degeneration in the tadr mutant is characterized by shrunken and disrupted rhabdomeres. The TADR protein interacts in vitro with the major light receptor Rh1 rhodopsin, and genetic reduction of the Rh1 level suppresses the tadr-induced degeneration, suggesting the degeneration is Rh1-dependent. Nonetheless, removal of phospholipase C (PLC), a key enzyme in phototransduction, and that of Arr2 fail to inhibit rhabdomeral degeneration in the tadr mutant background. Biochemical analyses reveal that, in the tadr mutant, the Gq protein of Rh1 is defective in dissociation from the membrane during light stimulation. Importantly, reduction of Gq level by introducing a hypomorphic allele of Gαq gene greatly inhibits the tadr degeneration phenotype. These results may suggest that loss of a potential TADR-Rh1 interaction leads to an abnormality in the Gqsignaling, which in turn triggers rhabdomeral degeneration independent of the PLC phototransduction cascade. We propose that TADR-like proteins may also protect photoreceptors from degeneration in mammals including humans. In the third chapter, I present a Drosophila CUB- and LDLa-domain transmembrane protein CULD that counteracts the visual arrestin Arr1-mediated endocytosis to retain rhodopsin in rhabdomeral membrane. CULD is mostly localized in rhabdomeres, but is also detected in scarce rhodopsin endocytic vesicles that contain Arr1. An intracellular region of CULD interacts with Arr1 in vitro. In both culdmutant and knockdown flies, a large amount of rhodopsin is mislocalized in the cell body of photoreceptors through lightdependent, Arr1-mediated endocytosis, leading to reduction of photoreceptor sensitivity. Expressing a wild-type CULD protein in photoreceptors, but not a mutant variant lacking the Arr1-interacting site, rescues both the rhodopsin mislocalization and the low sensitivity phenotypes. Once rhodopsin has been internalized in adult mutant flies, it is reversed only by expression of CULD but not by blocking endocytosis, suggesting that CULD promotes recycling of endocytosed rhodopsin to the rhabdomere. Our results demonstrate an important role of CULD in the maintenance of membrane rhodopsin density and photoreceptor sensitivity. We propose that a common cellular function of CUB- and LDLa-domain proteins, in both mammals and invertebrates, is to concentrate receptors including GPCRs in particular regions of cell membrane. In summary, the work addressed in this thesis has identified new molecular mechavii nisms underlying the maintenance of visual sensitivity in Drosophila, either through preventing Gq-mediated rhabdomeral degeneration or through antagonizing arrestin-mediated rhodopsin endocytosis. This work has advanced our understanding of visual biology and the general regulatory mechanisms of GPCR signaling, and may provide valuable clues to pathologic studies of human retinal degeneration disorders.

Starting from a gal⁴/UAS enhancer trap screen, Dr Zhao isolated two cDNAs encoded by a gene expressed in anterior dorsal follicle cells. I sequenced these and identified them as members of a new family of RGS proteins responsible for the negative regulation of G-Protein signalling. This gene was also identified by Granderath et al.

Alcohol is one of the most widely used and socially acceptable drugs in the world. However, its chronic use can lead to serious problems including the development of tolerance. Acute and chronic use of ethanol leads to short-term and long-term changes in gene expression in the brain resulting in cellular and molecular adaptations that are associated with addictive behaviours. Our understanding of the mechanisms by which alcohol produces these changes in the brain is not fully understood. Ethanol affects the function of receptors including G protein-coupled receptors that activate heterotrimeric G proteins. The aim of this thesis is to understand whether ethanol can cause changes in G protein gene expression using Drosophila melanogaster as a model. Drosophila is a genetically tractable organism suitable to investigate the neural substrates of neuroadaptive responses to ethanol. The response to ethanol and the onset of tolerance was measured in wild-type and mutant Drosophila. While tolerance was consistently observed in all fly populations, individual differences in sensitivity to alcohol were observed, which prompted the isolation of subpopulations of Drosophila with distinct ethanol characteristics. Relative mRNA expression in G protein subunits was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in different Drosophila strains (wild-type, subpopulations of early and late responders, G protein mutants and dopamine 1-like D2 receptor mutants) that have received zero, one, two or three ethanol exposures at 24 h intervals. When measured in the wild-type strains, changes in G protein subunits expression were variable. However in a subpopulations of early responders that were selected for high ethanol sensitivity, a non-statistically significant decrease of two Gα-protein subunits: Gi and Gq were observed. When measured in two Drosophila mutant strains, flies with ii either deletion of dopamine D2 receptor or a mutated Gi gene subunit, statistically significant changes were observed in Gi and Gq subunits. In a further study, a mutant expressing non-functional Gq, the Gi expression was not affected by the ethanol treatment suggesting a possible crosstalk between different signalling pathways. These results justify a more detailed investigation of changes in G protein subunits following acute and chronic exposure to ethanol in Drosophila, which will allow verifying the hypothesis that changes in gene expression of G proteins participate in addictive behaviours in Drosophila. These findings in Drosophila, which share genetic and functional characteristics with the mammalian nervous system, could translate into important advances in identifying targets for treatment for alcohol addiction in humans.

Previously, disruptions of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signalling pathway have been found to affect olfactory learning in Drosophila. On a neuroanatomical level, the mushroom bodies and central complex have also been implicated in this process. In this study, four P-GAL4 enhancer trap lines were identified, which when used to drive expression of a constitutively activated stimulatory heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein alpha subunit (Gs), were disrupted in their ability to perform an associative olfactory learning task. In three of these lines, expression of activated Gs eliminated learning. In the fourth line, expression of activated Gs reduced learning by about half compared with controls. By contrast, expression of wild type Gs in these P-GAL4 lines had no effect on associative learning. While no P-GAL4 insertion was exclusively expressed in the mushroom bodies, all four showed prominent preferential expression in these structures. In addition, the P-GAL4 insertion producing a partial learning defect was expressed in a restricted subset of mushroom body neurons. Gross mushroom body morphology was not obviously disrupted in these lines, although more subtle defects in mushroom body morphology or development could not be excluded by this analysis. Expression of activated Gs in components of the central complex had no effect on associative learning, suggesting that such disruption to Gs signalling were insufficient to interfere with olfactory learning. Taken together, these data represent functional evidence that regulated Gs signalling within mushroom body neurons of the Drosophila brain is required for associative olfactory learning.

Orientadores: Angela Maria Moraes, Ronaldo Zucatelli Mendonça, Thomas Noll
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica
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Resumo: Células embrionárias de dípteros como as de Drosophila melanogaster S2 estão sendo utilizadas com sucesso na expressão de diversas proteínas recombinantes. Em comparação a células de mamíferos, este sistema de expressão mostra-se capaz de realizar modificações pós-tradução na complexidade requerida, apresentando maior facilidade de cultivo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi formular um meio de cultura livre de soro e de outras fontes de proteínas de origem animal, que proporcionasse o crescimento de células S2, aplicável a linhagens transfectadas (S2AcGPV2) produtoras da glicoproteína G do vírus da raiva (GPV). Para tal, foi empregado o meio basal IPL-41 e avaliados os efeitos das concentrações de glicose, frutose, lactose, glutamina, metionina e tirosina, do hidrolisado de leveduras yeastolate, do agente Pluronic F68, assim como de uma emulsão lipídica, sobre a concentração de células viáveis e a viabilidade celular. Em adição, foram avaliadas a velocidade específica de crescimento, a produtividade celular e a produção de GPV nas formulações testadas. Os ensaios foram realizados primeiramente em frascos do tipo schott, e, após a obtenção da formulação do meio de cultura mais adequada, realizaram-se ensaios cinéticos, em maior escala, em frascos do tipo spinner, nos quais se pode estudar a influência da concentração de oxigênio dissolvido e do pH no cultivo. Durante o estudo foram empregados dois modos de operação de cultivo, batelada e batelada alimentada. Nos estudos enfocando a formulação do meio de cultura, verificou-se que o meio IPL-41 suplementado com 10 g/L de glicose, 0,5 g/L de frutose, 2 g/L de lactose, 3,5 g/L de glutamina, 0,6 g/L de tirosina, 1,48 g/L de metionina, 6 g/L de yeastolate, 1 % de emulsão lipídica e 0,05 % de Pluronic F68 mostrou-se como o mais adequado para a obtenção de elevadas concentrações celulares (superiores a 300 x 105 células/mL). Com esta formulação, foram realizados os ensaios em frascos spinner, no sistema Cellferm-pro®. Neste sistema as células S2AcGPV2 atingiram a maior concentração (368 x105 células/mL) e o maior teor de GPV (9,39 ng/106 células) quando mantidas na concentração de 40 % de oxigênio dissolvido e pH 6,3. A avaliação do metabolismo celular mostrou que asparagina, serina, prolina, glutamina, glicose e a maltose foram os principais nutrientes consumidos e que alanina, lactato e amônia foram os principais metabólitos produzidos
Abstract: Drosophila melanogaster Schneider 2 cells have been used with success to produce several recombinant proteins. This expression system presents several advantages when compared with mammalian cells expression system, and usually provide an adequate postradutional protein processing, being easier to culture. The aim of this work was to produce an animal component-free medium for S2 cells growth, and also for transfected cells (S2AcGPV2) producing the G glycoprotein from rabies virus (GPV). The basal IPL-41 medium was used and the effects of supplements glucose, fructose, lactose, glutamine, methionine, tyrosine, yeastolate ultrafiltrate, Pluronic F68 and lipid emulsion on viable cell concentration and cellular viability were evaluated. In addition, the cell specific growth rate, cellular productivity and GPV production were analyzed in the formulations studied. The experiments were carried out in schott flasks, as well as in spinner flasks. The effects of dissolved oxygen concentration and pH were evaluated in spinner flasks. During the study, batch and fed- batch mode operation were used. In the studies focusing media formulation developed, IPL-41 supplemented with 10 g/L of glucose, 0.5 g/L of fructose, 2 g/L of lactose, 3.5 g/L of glutamine, 0.6 g/L of tyrosine, 1.48 g/L of methionine, 6 g/L of yeastolate, 1 % of lipid emulsion and 0.05 % of Pluronic F68 provided high cell density (above 300 x105 cells/mL). In the experiments performed in spinner flasks, using the Cellferm-pro® system, S2AcGPV2 cells reached the highest cell concentration (368 x105 cells/mL) and protein content (9.39 ng/106 cells), at 40 % of dissolved oxygen concentration and pH of 6.3. The cell metabolism shown that, amino acids as asparagine, serine, proline, glutamine, and carbohydrates as glucose and maltose were consumed. The main metabolities produced were alanine, ammonia and lactate
Doutorado
Desenvolvimento de Processos Biotecnologicos
Doutor em Engenharia Química

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is an essential and highly conserved pathway required for embryonic development and adult tissues homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. In humans, abnormal Hh signaling leads to numerous congenital diseases and deregulation of Hh signaling is associated with certain aspects of tumorigenesis. Therefore, a complete characterization of this pathway may help us to better understand the role of Hh signaling under physiological and pathological conditions. A key transducer of Hh signaling is Smoothened (Smo), a seven-pass transmembrane protein and distant member of the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family. In the absence of the secreted Hh protein, Smo is inhibited by another membrane protein, the Hh-receptor Patched (Ptc). Hh binding to Ptc releases this inhibition and triggers accumulation of Smo at the cell surface. Phosphorylation of Smo by Protein kinase A (PKA) and additional kinases allows Smo to adopt an active conformation, which turns the Hh signaling pathway on and ultimately allows the expression of Hh target genes. G-protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) are known to phosphorylate active GPCRs and promote homologous desensitization of GPCR signaling. Smo is a functional GPCR in Drosophila and several recent studies suggest that GRKs participate in Hh signaling in both invertebrates and vertebrates. To address the role of GRKs in Drosophila Hh signaling, we analyzed flies mutant for gprk2, one of two GRKs in flies. Interestingly, gprk2 mutant flies display defects typical of impaired Hh signaling, suggesting that Gprk2 is required for transducing the Hh signal. Further studies, however, showed that Gprk2 also plays a negative role in Hh signaling by promoting Smo desensitization, which is consistent with typical GRK biology. To explain the dual and contradictory role of Gprk2 in Hh signaling, we hypothesized that heterotrimeric G-protein-dependent signaling may be affected in gprk2 mutants through misregulation of Smo and other GPCRs. Consistent with this idea we find that basal cAMP levels are abnormally low in gprk2 mutants. Cellular cAMP concentrations control the activity of PKA, the key activator of Smo. With genetic experiments, we confirmed that cAMP levels and PKA activity are limiting for Hh target gene expression in gprk2 mutants. In conclusion, our results suggest that Gprk2 regulates Hh signaling in two ways. On one hand, it limits Hh signaling by promoting homologous desensitization of Smo. On the other hand, it is also required to keep cellular cAMP concentrations in a physiological range that is required for normal Hh signaling. We speculate that the abnormally low cAMP levels in gprk2 mutants are not only caused by misregulation of Smo, but also by a more global misregulation of GPCR signaling, suggesting that Hh signalling is affected by signalling cross-talk.
La voie de signalisation Hedgehog (Hh) est une cascade de signalisation essentielle et hautement conservée, requise lors du développement embryonnaire et le maintien de l'homéostasie dans les tissus adultes, tant chez les invertébrés que chez les vertébrés. Chez l'homme, une signalisation anormale de cette voie de signalisation entraîne de nombreux défauts congénitaux, et est associée à certains aspects de la tumorigénèse. Ainsi, une caractérisation complète de cette cascade signalitique nous aiderait à mieux comprendre le rôle de Hh dans des conditions physiologiques et pathologiques. La protéine Smoothened (Smo) est une composante importante de la signalisation par Hh. Smo est composée de sept domaines transmembranaires et fait partie de la famille de "G-protein-coupled receptor" (GPCR). En absence de Hh, Smo est inhibée par la protéine membranaire "Hh-receptor Patched" (Ptc). La liaison de Hh à Ptc relâche l'inhibition qu'exerce cette dernière sur Smo, qui s'accumule alors à la surface de la cellule. La phosphorylation de Smo par la Protéine kinase A (PKA) ou d'autres kinases permet à Smo d'adopter sa conformation dite active, qui enclenche alors la cascade signalitique qui induit l'expression des gènes cibles de Hh.Il a été démontré que les protéines "G-protein-coupled receptor kinases" (GRKs) phosphorylent les GPCRs actives et promouvoient ainsi la désensibilisation à leur signalisation. De récentes études suggèrent que les GRKs participent à la signalisation par Hh chez les invertébrés et chez les vertébrés. Afin de mieux comprendre le role des GRKs dans la signalisation de Hh chez la drosophile, nous avons analysé des mouches mutantes pour gprk2, l'une des deux GRKs présentes dans ce modèle. Surprenament, les mouches mutantes pour gprk2 présentent des défauts qui sont typiques à la voie de signalisation Hh. Ceci suggère que Gprk2 est requise pour transmettre les signaux de signalisation en aval de Hh. Toutefois, de plus amples études ont révélées que Gprk2 régule aussi de façon negative cette voie de signalisation en induisant la désensibilisation à Smo. Afin d'expliquer les rôles contradictoires de Gprk2 dans la voie de signalisation Hh, nous avons émis l'hypothèse que les défauts de signalisation par les GPCRs observés chez les mouches mutantes pour gprk2 sont dûs à une mauvaise regulation de Smo et d'autres GPCRs. Ainsi, nous avons découvert que les niveaux basals d'AMPc sont anormalement bas chez les mutants de gprk2. Les concentrations intracellulaires d'AMPc régulent l'activité de la PKA, qui elle-même régule Smo. À l'aide d'expériences génétiques, nous avons confirmé que les bas niveaux d'AMPc et de l'activité de la PKA limitent l'expresssion des gènes cibles de Hh chez les mutants de gprk2. En conclusion, nous résultats suggèrent que Gprk2 régule la signalisaiton de Hh de deux façons distinctes. D'une part, elle régule la signalisation en amont de Hh en induisant la désensibilisation à Smo. D'autre part, Gprk2 est requise afin de maintenir les niveaux d'AMPc à des niveaux physiologiques, ce qui est nécessaire pour une signalisation normale de Hh. Nos résultats suggèrent que les niveaux anormalement faible d'AMPc chez les mutants de gprk2 ne sont pas dûs uniquement à une mauvaise regulation de Smo, mais à une mauvaise regulation plus globale de GPCRs en general. Ainsi, la signalisation par Hh semble être régulée par différentes boucles de rétroactivation.

Hormonally-triggered regulatory hierarchies play a major role in organismal development. Disruption of a single member of such a hierarchy can lead to irregular development and disease. Therefore, knowledge of the members involved and the mechanisms controlling signaling through such pathways is of great importance in understanding how resulting developmental defects occur. Type II transmembrane serine proteases (TTSPs) make up a family of cell surface-associated proteases that play important roles in the development and homeostasis of a number of mammalian tissues. Aberrant expression of TTSPs is linked to several human disorders, including deafness, heart and respiratory disease and cancer. However, the mechanism by which these proteases function remains unknown. The ecdysone-responsive Stubble TTSP of Drosophila serves as a good model in which to study the functional mechanism of the TTSP family. The Stubble protease interacts with the intracellular Rho1 (RhoA) pathway to control epithelial development in imaginal discs. The Rho1 signaling pathway regulates cellular behavior via control of gene expression and actin cytoskeletal dynamics. However, the mechanism by which the Stubble protease interacts with the Rho1 pathway to control epithelial development, in particular leg imaginal disc morphogenesis, has yet to be elucidated. The Stubble protein consists of several conserved domains. One approach to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of Stubble in regulating Rho1 signaling is to define which of the conserved domains within the protease are required for proper function. Sequence analysis of twelve recessive Stubble mutant alleles has revealed that the proteolytic domain is essential for proper function. Alleles containing mutations which disrupt regions of the protease domain necessary for protease activation or substrate binding, as well as those with deletions or truncations that remove some portion of the proteolytic domain, result in defective epithelial development in vivo. In contrast, mutations in other regions of the Stubble protein, including the disulfide-knotted and cytoplasmic domains, were not observed. Another important step for defining the connection between Stubble and Rho1 signaling is to identify a Stubble target that acts as an upstream regulator of the Rho1 pathway. We performed a genetic screen in which 97 of the 147 Drosophila non-olfactory and non-gustatory G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a family of proteins that has been shown to be protease-activated and to activate Rho1 signaling, were tested for interactions with a mutant allele of Stubble. We found 4 genomic regions uncovering a total of 7 GPCRs that interact genetically when in heterozygous combination with a Stubble mutant. Further analysis of these genes is necessary to determine if any of these GPCRs is targeted by Stubble during activation of the Rho1 pathway.
M.S.
Department of Biology
Sciences
Biology MS

Steroid hormones are known to have significant effects on a wide variety of biological processes. In particular, they serve as critical modulators of neural function and behavior and play critical roles in stress responses and neurologic disorders. Until recently the biological actions of steroid hormones were believed to operate primarily through activation of cognate nuclear hormone receptors or the allosteric modulation of ion channels (Majewskaet al., 1986). However, new signaling pathways involving G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) for steroid hormones have been recently identified in multiple different species, implicating steroid hormones in direct fast modulation of intracellular signaling and in turn behavior (Thomas et al., 2006, Gabor et al., 2015). In mammals G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER), also known as G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30), is expressed throughout the body including in the nervous system and has been suggested to play a variety of roles in health and behavior (Prossnitz and Barton, 2011). Despite recent progress in this area from studies using rodent models, the mechanisms underlying "non-genomic” actions of steroids remain largely elusive. This gap in our understanding presents a significant scientific and clinical challenge to a comprehensive view of the role of steroid hormones in regulating both neural function, behavior and overall health of the organism. To understand the mechanisms for this unconventional steroid signaling we sought to use a simpler system to explore the functions of GPCR’s for steroid hormones. In 2005, Peter Evans’s group identified DopEcR, a unique GPCR in Drosophila melanogaster, which responds to ecdysone—the major steroid hormone in insects (Srivastava et al. 2005). This unconventional GPCR for steroid hormones is particularly interesting because it is a dual receptor that also responds to a structurally dissimilar compound, dopamine. DopEcR is preferentially expressed in the nervous system and has recently been implicated in modulating multiple behaviors including starvation-induced enhancement of sugar sensitivity (Inagaki et al., 2012), experience-dependent courtship suppression, habituation of the giant fiber pathway (Ishimoto et al., 2013) and ethanol-induced sedation (Petruccelli et al. 2016) in flies. DopEcR also plays a role in perception of sex pheromones in moths (Abrieux et al., 2013). More recently the mammalian GPCR for estrogen GPER has also been found to bind dopamine indicating that this unique attribute may be more prevalent among these novel GPCRs for steroids (Evans et al. 2013). Despite these previous findings, we still know little about how GPCRs for steroids modulate neurons at the cellular level and how they modulate behaviors. Therefore we sought to forge a more comprehensive understanding of the function of steroid signaling by characterizing DopEcR function in neuronal and behavioral modulation through GPCR’s. To characterize DopEcR’s function we looked at the consequences of DopEcR signaling at three levels: behavior, neuronal morphology and finally physiology. Because changes steroid hormones levels are often associated with environmental stressors we assayed the role of DopEcR in a stress related behavior: starvation-induced sleep suppression and hyperactivity. To look at DopEcR’s role in neuronal physiology we used bioluminescent calcium imaging to measure its effect on the stimulated calcium response in a brain structure critical for behavior. Finally we used principal clock neurons in the brain (PDF+ l-LNv neurons) as a model to examine DopEcR’s role in modulating plasticity and neuronal structure. In our present work described in Chapter 2, we found that the D1-like receptor, DopR1, modulates sleep and activity independent of starvation while DopEcR plays a role in mediating starvation-induced sleep suppression and enhanced activity. We found that knocking down EGFR in a DopEcR mutant background restored starvation induced changes in behavior, suggesting that DopEcR normally suppresses EGFR signaling to suppress sleep under starvation. In Chapter 4, we show that the nicotine-induced Ca2+-response was selectively enhanced in the medial lobes either in DopEcR mutant or in flies with DopEcR selectively knocked down within the MBs. Using a pharmacological approach, we show that the endogenous ligands of DopEcR mediated two different responses in the MBs: the steroid ligand ecdysone enhances activity in the calyx and cell body region, whereas monoaminergic ligand dopamine reduced activity in the medial lobes. In Chapter 5, we find that reducing DopEcR in PDF neurons results in reduced basal levels of bouton numbers. The reduction in bouton number is independent of cAMP signaling but instead relies on inhibition of EGFR signaling. Signifying that DopEcR may modulate EGFR associated signaling to make changes in the in the brain. These results demonstrate that DopEcR is able to modulate neuronal excitability, physical structure of neurons and the behavior of the organism. Interestingly it also indicates that DopEcR’s different ligands, dopamine and ecdysone, may have unique and spatially distinct effects on different brain structures or within the same structure. Overall, this study provides a solid foundation for understanding the roles and action mechanisms of GPCR-mediated steroid signaling in regulation of neural development, physiology and behavior.

Le locus rotund (rn) de drosophila melanogaster est implique dans la morphogenese des appendices. L'un des deux transcrits produits par ce locus code pour une proteine de type racgap, regulateur negatif des petites gtpases de la famille rho/rac, controlant l'organisation du cytosquelette d'actine. La surexpression de la proteine rnracgap dans des lignees transgeniques de drosophiles au cours de la pupaison perturbe de nombreux processus developpementaux. La periode critique propre a chaque phenotype est en accord avec l'hypothese d'une desorganisation du reseau d'actine. En effet, on observe chez les embryons surexprimant cette proteine une delocalisation de l'actine-f, associee a un changement de la forme des cellules. Au cours du developpement imaginal, il semble que cette proteine interagisse avec les partenaires de ras dans les voies de transduction de signal, dans la morphogenese des veines de l'aile, et des yeux. Ces donnees suggerent l'existence de communications fonctionnelles entre petites proteines g regulant differents processus developpementaux

In the morphogenesis of tissue development, how coordination of patterning and growth achieve the correct organ size and shape is a principal question in biology. Efficient orchestrating mechanisms are required to achieve this and cells have developed sophisticated systems for reception and interpretation of the multitude of extracellular stimuli to which they are exposed. Plasma membrane receptors play a key role in the transmission of such signals. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of cell surface receptors that respond to an enormous diversity of extracellular stimuli, and are critical mediators of cellular signal transduction in eukaryotic organisms. Signaling through GPCRs has been well characterized in many biological contexts. While they are a major class of signal transducers, there are not many defined instances where GPCRs have been implicated in the process of development to date. The Drosophila wing provides an ideal model system to elucidate and address the role of GPCRs in development, as its growth is regulated by a small number of conserved signaling pathways. In my thesis work, I address the role of a trimeric G alpha protein in Drosophila, Gαf, and what part it may play in development. In particular, I explore the role of Gαf as an alpha subunit of a trimeric complex, to determine what heptahelical receptors might act as its cognate receptor.

Latrophilin, alternatively named calcium-independent receptor of α-latrotoxin (CIRL), resembles a prototype of the adhesion class G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Initially identified as a high-affinity receptor for α-latrotoxin, a component of the black widow spider, latrophilins are now associated with various distinct functions, such as synaptic exocytosis, tissue polarity and fertility (Tobaben et al., 2002; Langenhan et al., 2009; Promel et al., 2012). Despite these exploratory efforts the precise subcellular localisation as well as the endogenous ligand of CIRL still remains elusive. In this work genetic experiments, imaging approaches and behavioural studies have been used to unravel the localisation and physiological function of the latrophilin homolog dCirl in Drosophila melanogaster. Containing only one latrophilin homolog together with its genetic accessibility and well-established transgenic approaches, Drosophila seemed an ideally suited model organism. The present study showed that dCirl is widely expressed in the larval central nervous system including moto- and sensory neurons. Further, this work revealed that removal of the latrophilin homolog does not greatly affect synaptic transmission but it seems that aspects of the postsynaptic structural layout are controlled by dCIRL in the fruit fly. Additionally, dCirl expression at the transcriptional level was confirmed in larval and adult chordotonal organs, specialised mechanosensors implicated in proprioception (Eberl, 1999). Expression of dCIRL at the protein level could not yet been confirmed in moto- and sensory neurons likely due to low endogenous expression. However, behavioural studies using dCirl knockout mutant larvae indicated a putative mechanosensory function of dCIRL regarding touch sensitivity and locomotion behaviour. The second part of this thesis presents a strategy to examine interactions between several presynaptic proteins in living cells. The attempt described in this work is based on the discovery that GFP when split into two non-fluorescent fragments can form a fluorescent complex. The association of the fragments can be facilitated by fusing them to two proteins that interact with each other. Therefore, the split GFP method enables direct visualization of synaptic protein interactions in living cells. In initial experiments I could show that full length reporter protein fusions with n-Synaptobrevin (n-Syb), Synaptotagmin (Syt) and Syntaxin (Syx) allow expression in Drosophila and confirmed that fusion to either end of each synaptic protein did not impair expression or influence the viability of transgenic flies. Further, transgenes containing protein fusions of Syx, Syt, and n-Syb with split GFP fragments were established in previous studies (Gehring, 2010). The present work characterises the interaction of these protein fusions during different stages of synaptic vesicle turnover at active zones such as synaptic vesicle docking at the presynaptic membrane and vesicle fusion. These results suggest that the spGFP assay seems only partly suitable for resolving fast and transient protein-protein interactions at larval Drosophila active zones in vivo
Latrophilin, auch als Calcium-unabhängiger Rezeptor für α-Latrotoxin (CIRL) bezeichnet, repräsentiert einen Prototyp der Adhäsions G-Protein gekoppelten Rezeptorklasse. Ursprünglich als hoch-affiner Rezeptor für α-Latrotoxin entdeckt, werden Latrophiline heute mit zahlreichen verschiedenen Funktionen, wie synaptischer Exozytose, Gewebepolarität und Fertilität assoziiert (Tobaben et al., 2002; Langenhan et al., 2009; Promel et al., 2012). Trotz dieser Fortschritte sind die genaue subzelluläre Lokalisation sowie der endogene Ligand noch weitgehend unbekannt. Diese Studie verwendet genetische Ansätze, bildgebende Verfahren und Verhaltensstudien, um die Lokalisation und physiologische Funktion des Latrophilinhomologs dCirl in Drosophila melanogaster aufzuklären. Die Tatsache, dass Drosophila nur ein einziges Latrophilin Homolog besitzt, zusammen mit den genetischen Möglichkeiten und den sehr gut etablierten transgenen Methoden, machen die Fruchtfliege zu einem idealen Modellorganismus. Die erhobenen Daten belegen, dass dCirl verstärkt im larvalen Nervensystem, einschließlich motorischer und sensorischer Neurone, exprimiert wird. Weiterhin konnte gezeigt werden, dass in dCirl Knockout-Mutanten die basale synaptische Transmission unverändert ist, vermutlich aber Teile der postsynaptischen Struktur durch dCIRL in der Fruchtfliege kontrolliert werden. Zusätzlich konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass dCirl auf Transkriptionsebene in den larvalen und adulten Chordotonalorganen exprimiert wird, spezifische Mechanosensoren, die an der Propriozeption beteiligt sind (Eberl, 1999). Die Expression von dCIRL auf Proteinebene in motorischen und sensorischen Neuronen konnte aufgrund niedriger endogener Expressionslevel noch nicht verifiziert werden. Allerdings deuten Verhaltensstudien, die Berührungsempfindlichkeit und Lokomotion untersuchen, auf eine mögliche mechanosensorische Funktion von dCIRL in den Larven von Drosophila hin. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit zeigt eine Strategie auf, die es ermöglicht, das Zusammenspiel verschiedener präsynaptischer Proteine in vivo zu untersuchen. Die hier beschriebene Methode basiert auf der Entdeckung, dass sich zwei nicht-fluoreszierende Fragmente des grün leuchtenden Proteins (GFP), zu einem fluoreszierenden Komplex zusammenlagern können. Diese geteilten GFP-Fragmente (split-GFPs) werden mit zwei unterschiedlichen Proteinen fusioniert, die miteinander interagieren. Die split-GFP Methode ermöglicht so eine direkte Visualisierung von Protein-Protein-Interaktionen in lebenden Zellen. In ersten Experimenten konnte ich zeigen, dass Synaptobrevin (n-Syb), Synaptotagmin (Syt) und Syntaxin (Syx), die mit vollständigen Fluorophoren markiert wurden, für die Expression in Drosophila geeignet sind und bestätigen, dass sowohl die N-terminale als auch die C-terminale Proteinfusion möglich ist. Zudem konnte durch diese Versuche die Überlebensfähigkeit der transgenen Fliegen überprüft werden. In vorangegangenen Studien wurden Transgene hergestellt, die Proteinfusionen von n-Syb, Syt und Syx mit split-GFP Fragmenten enthalten (Gehring, 2010). Die vorliegende Arbeit charakterisiert die Wechselwirkung dieser Proteinfusionen während unterschiedlicher Stufen der synaptischen Vesikelfreisetzung an der aktiven Zone, wie beispielsweise dem Vesikel-docking an der präsynaptischen Membran und der Vesikelfusion. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie deuten darauf hin, dass die split-GFP Technik nur bedingt geeignet ist um schnelle und transiente Protein-Protein Interaktionen an der larvalen aktiven Zone von Drosophila in vivo darzustellen

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Biologia Molecular em Saúde.
Relaxin is a hormone structurally similar to insulin, firstly described in 1926, as a substance with a significant influence on the reproductive system. While insulin activates a tyrosine kinase receptor and stimulates signaling pathway that includes phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and serine/threorine kinase (AKT), relaxins bind to Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptors (LGRs) of the C1 subtype. In Drosophila, two LGRs of subtype C1 exhibit clear structural homology with relaxin receptors, described in mammals. Neverthless, the ligands and the biological functions of these receptors remain unknown not only in Drosophila, but also in invertebrates. Here our objective was to generate genetic tools to study the biological function of these two Type C1 LGRs in Drosophila. With this aim we generated mutant lines for both receptors through classical transposon remobilization techniques. The mutants obtained were characterized as strong loss-of-function deletions, yet no clear phenotype was observed for any of the receptors as regards viability and reproduction. We then tested the hypothesis that either Type C1 LGR could be part of the developmental delay pathway triggered by the Drosophila insuline-like peptide. This peptide is produced and secreted from abnormally growing imaginal discs and delays the onset of metamorphosis by inhibiting the biosynthesis of the major insect molting hormone ecdysone. Strikingly, we found that mutations in either Type C1 LGRs could suppress the insulin-like peptide-depend delay in the onset of metamorphosis to different extents. These results provide the first glimpse into a biological function for invertebrate Type C1 LGR receptors and place them downstream or in parallel to Drosophila insulin-like peptide in this developmental timing control pathway. The resemblance between human and Drosophila core physiological and developmental pathways reinforce that the fly can be a powerful model system to study genes and pathways that are relevant for human development and disease.

"November 2002"
Bibliography: p. 177-194.
194 p. : ill., plates (some col.) ; 30 cm.
Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences, 2003