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First published online January 23, 2008
In this issue |
In Drosophila oocytes, polarization of the microtubule cytoskeleton localizes the maternal RNAs that subsequently specify the anteroposterior (AP) and dorsoventral axes, but how is cytoskeletal polarity established and regulated? In a paper published in Development, Ai-Guo Tian and Wu-Min Deng report that the tumour suppressor Lethal (2) giant larvae (Lgl) and atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) play important roles in regulating microtubule polarity and in setting up the AP axis in Drosophila oocytes. They show that the loss of lgl in germline cells disrupts the normal localization of oocyte polarity markers. Restriction of Lgl activity to the posterior of the oocyte by anterior aPKC (which phosphorylates and inactivates Lgl) is also needed for the correct localisation of these markers, they report. Furthermore, active Lgl regulates the posterior enrichment of Par-1, a serine/threonine kinase that controls microtubule polarity in Drosophila oocytes. Together, these results indicate that a regulatory circuit that involves Lgl and its phosphorylation by aPKC establishes oocyte polarity.
References
Tian, A.-G. and Deng, W.-M. (2008). Lgl and its phosphorylation by aPKC regulate oocyte polarity formation in Drosophila. Development 135, 463-471.
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