Localization to the appropriate subcellular compartment is of critical importance for the functioning of many different sorts of proteins. The eukaryotic cell typically employs several different strategies for the targeting of proteins to sites where their functions are required. One of these is mRNA localization. In this targeting strategy, specific mRNAs are first transported to particular intracellular compartments. The mRNAs are anchored at these target sites where they can be stored in a """"""""masked"""""""" form until they are translated into protein in response to some type of signaling pathway. This mRNA localization strategy not only permits the production of compartmentalized proteins """"""""on site"""""""", but is often also coupled to mechanisms which can coordinate the timing and/or level of synthesis of these proteins with other biological processes that are occurring inside the cell. mRNA localization appears to be a particularly important strategy for protein targeting in developmental systems where positional information (specifying different cell fates) must be distributed in a defined spatial array and where proteins must be synthesized in temporal patterns that are coordinated with other developomental events. The experiments described in this proposal focus on the orb gene. This gene plays a key role in several different mRNA localization pathways during Drosophila oogenesis, controlling the """"""""on site"""""""" translation of localized mRNAs that are required to establish polarity axes in the Drosophila egg and embryo.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM056937-03
Application #
6386810
Study Section
Reproductive Biology Study Section (REB)
Program Officer
Deatherage, James F
Project Start
1999-06-01
Project End
2003-05-31
Budget Start
2001-06-01
Budget End
2002-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$182,991
Indirect Cost
Name
Princeton University
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
002484665
City
Princeton
State
NJ
Country
United States
Zip Code
08544
Xu, Shuwa; Hafer, Nathaniel; Agunwamba, Blessing et al. (2012) The CPEB protein Orb2 has multiple functions during spermatogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS Genet 8:e1003079
Wong, Li Chin; Costa, Alexandre; McLeod, Ian et al. (2011) The functioning of the Drosophila CPEB protein Orb is regulated by phosphorylation and requires casein kinase 2 activity. PLoS One 6:e24355
Wong, Li Chin; Schedl, Paul (2011) Cup blocks the precocious activation of the orb autoregulatory loop. PLoS One 6:e28261
Hafer, Nathaniel; Xu, Shuwa; Bhat, Krishna Moorthi et al. (2011) The Drosophila CPEB protein Orb2 has a novel expression pattern and is important for asymmetric cell division and nervous system function. Genetics 189:907-21