Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2128.
G3 (Bethesda). 2012 Jun;2(6):653-6. doi: 10.1534/g3.112.001974. Epub 2012 Jun 1.
Sialylated glycans play a prominent role in the Drosophila nervous system where they are involved in the regulation of neural transmission. However, the functional pathway of sialylation in invertebrates, including Drosophila, remains largely unknown. Here we used a combination of genetic and behavioral approaches to shed light on the Drosophila sialylation pathway. We examined genetic interactions between Drosophila sialyltransferase (DSiaT) and β1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (β4GalNAcT) genes. Our results indicated that β4GalNAcTA and DSiaT cooperate within the same functional pathway that regulates neural transmission. We found that β4GalNAcTA is epistatic to DSiaT. Our data suggest an intriguing possibility that β4GalNAcTA may participate in the biosynthesis of sialylated glycans.
唾液酸化聚糖在果蝇神经系统中起着重要作用，它们参与神经传递的调节。然而，包括果蝇在内的无脊椎动物的唾液酸化途径在很大程度上仍然未知。在这里，我们使用遗传和行为方法的组合来阐明果蝇的唾液酸化途径。我们研究了果蝇唾液酸转移酶 (DSiaT) 和 β1,4-N-乙酰半乳糖胺基转移酶 (β4GalNAcT) 基因之间的遗传相互作用。我们的结果表明，β4GalNAcTA 和 DSiaT 在同一功能途径中合作，该途径调节神经传递。我们发现β4GalNAcTA 对 DSiaT 是上位性的。我们的数据表明，β4GalNAcTA 可能参与了唾液酸化聚糖的生物合成，这是一个有趣的可能性。
