Abstract
Epithelial tubes are the functional units of many organs, and proper tube geometry is crucial for organ function. Here, we characterize serrano (sano), a novel cytoplasmic protein that is apically enriched in several tube-forming epithelia in Drosophila, including the tracheal system. Loss of sano results in elongated tracheae, whereas Sano overexpression causes shortened tracheae with reduced apical boundaries. Sano overexpression during larval and pupal stages causes planar cell polarity (PCP) defects in several adult tissues. In Sano-overexpressing pupal wing cells, core PCP proteins are mislocalized and prehairs are misoriented; sano loss or overexpression in the eye disrupts ommatidial polarity and rotation. Importantly, Sano binds the PCP regulator Dishevelled (Dsh), and loss or ectopic expression of many known PCP proteins in the trachea gives rise to similar defects observed with loss or gain of sano, revealing a previously unrecognized role for PCP pathway components in tube size control.
Highlights
Multicellular animals employ tubular structures in organs to transport vital fluids and gases that sustain life
Sano Overexpression Results in Smaller Apical Domains Since wing epithelial cells become hexagonally packed prior to planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins regulating hair formation [79], we examined cell shape in Sano-overexpressing wing cells
Ptc-Gal4-driven Sano expression at the anterior-posterior wing margin resulted in a decreased distance between wing veins L3 and L4 compared to wildtype wings (Figure 7C and 7D; 178.2962.10 pixels vs. 210.9164.58 pixels, N = 3 for each genotype; p,0.005, t-test)
Summary
Multicellular animals employ tubular structures in organs to transport vital fluids and gases that sustain life. Examples of organs with prominent tubular architecture include the circulatory system, the lung and kidney in mammals, the secretory and respiratory organs in flies, and the excretory organ in worms. Proper development of tubular networks is critical for the function of several organs, evidenced by disruption of these networks being an underlying cause of common human diseases including cardiovascular disease, polycystic kidney diseases, and asthma. The Drosophila trachea is a branched network of tubular epithelia that transports oxygen and other gases throughout tissues. Cell shape changes, and rearrangements of cell-cell junctions, tracheal cells generate a tubular network that extends branches to all embryonic tissues [1,2,3,4]
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