TitlePhosphoinositide signalling in Drosophila.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsBalakrishnan SS, Basu U, Raghu P
JournalBiochim Biophys Acta
Volume1851
Issue6
Pagination770-84
Date Published2015 Jun
ISSN0006-3002
KeywordsAnimals, CDP-Diacylglycerol-Inositol 3-Phosphatidyltransferase, Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila Proteins, Gene Expression Regulation, Isoenzymes, Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Diphosphate, Phosphoinositide Phospholipase C, Phospholipid Transfer Proteins, Receptors, Cell Surface, Signal Transduction, Species Specificity, Substrate Specificity
Abstract

Phosphoinositides (PtdInsPs) are lipids that mediate a range of conserved cellular processes in eukaryotes. These include the transduction of ligand binding to cell surface receptors, vesicular transport and cytoskeletal function. The nature and functions of PtdInsPs were initially elucidated through biochemical experiments in mammalian cells. However, over the years, genetic and cell biological analysis in a range of model organisms including S. cerevisiae, D. melanogaster and C. elegans have contributed to an understanding of the involvement of PtdInsPs in these cellular events. The fruit fly Drosophila is an excellent genetic model for the analysis of cell and developmental biology as well as physiological processes, particularly analysis of the complex relationship between the cell types of a metazoan in mediating animal physiology. PtdInsP signalling pathways are underpinned by enzymes that synthesise and degrade these molecules and also by proteins that bind to these lipids in cells. In this review we provide an overview of the current understanding of PtdInsP signalling in Drosophila. We provide a comparative genomic analysis of the PtdInsP signalling toolkit between Drosophila and mammalian systems. We also review some areas of cell and developmental biology where analysis in Drosophila might provide insights into the role of this lipid-signalling pathway in metazoan biology. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Phosphoinositides.

DOI10.1016/j.bbalip.2014.10.010
Alternate JournalBiochim. Biophys. Acta
PubMed ID25449646