Beach1 functionally antagonizes Rab11 during development and in regulating synaptic morphology

BEACH proteins comprise an evolutionarily conserved family characterized by the presence of a BEACH (Beige and Chediak-Higashi) domain of unknown function. They have been shown to play a role in a number of important cellular processes, ranging from cytokinesis to synaptic transmission, and implicated in human diseases, such as Chediak-Higashi Syndrome and cancer. Analysis of several BEACH proteins suggests that they may be involved in membrane trafficking; however, little insight has been gained into their molecular mechanism of function. We identified Drosophila Beach1 in a gain-of-function screen: beach1 overexpression in the photoreceptors drastically alters their growth cone morphology. In a subsequent genetic modifier screen, I identified rabll as a strong enhancer of the beach1 eye overexpression phenotype. Rabll is a small GTPase, which has been shown to regulate the delivery of vesicles and cargo to the plasma membrane via both the recycling and the biosynthetic pathways. Although beach1 loss-of-function mutants exhibit no obvious phenotypes, a sensitized background of a rabll mutant revealed a requirement for beach1 during development and in bristle extension.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Khodosh, Rita

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paul A. Garrity.

• Biology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33757

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33757