Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA.
Biochem Genet. 2011 Jun;49(5-6):329-51. doi: 10.1007/s10528-010-9411-7. Epub 2011 Jan 30.
A major category of mutant hematopoietic phenotypes in Drosophila is melanotic tumors or nodules, which consist of abnormal and overproliferated blood cells, similar to granulomas. Our analyses of the melanotic mutant dappled have revealed a novel type of gene involved in blood cell regulation. The dappled gene is an essential gene that encodes cytochrome b5, a conserved hemoprotein that participates in electron transfer in multiple biochemical reactions and pathways. Viable mutations of dappled cause melanotic nodules and hemocyte misregulation during both hematopoietic waves of development. The sexes are similarly affected, but hemocyte number is different in females and males of both mutants and wild type. Additionally, initial tests show that curcumin enhances the dappled melanotic phenotype and establish screening of endogenous and xenobiotic compounds as a route for analysis of cytochrome b5 function. Overall, dappled provides a tractable genetic model for cytochrome b5, which has been difficult to study in higher organisms.
果蝇中主要的突变造血表型类别是黑色素瘤或结节，它由异常和过度增殖的血细胞组成，类似于肉芽肿。我们对黑色素突变斑驳的分析揭示了一种新的参与血细胞调节的基因。斑驳基因是一种必需基因，编码细胞色素 b5，这是一种保守的血红素蛋白，参与多种生化反应和途径中的电子传递。斑驳的有效突变导致黑色素结节和血细胞在发育的两个造血波中失调。雌雄都受到类似的影响，但突变体和野生型的雌雄两性的血细胞数量不同。此外，初步测试表明，姜黄素增强了斑驳的黑色素表型，并建立了对内源性和外源性化合物的筛选，作为分析细胞色素 b5 功能的一种途径。总的来说，斑驳为细胞色素 b5 提供了一个易于处理的遗传模型，而细胞色素 b5 在高等生物中很难研究。
