In Drosophila, the secreted BMP-binding protein Short gastrulation (Sog) inhibits signaling by sequestering BMPs from receptors, but enhances signaling by transporting BMPs through tissues. We show that Crossveinless 2 (Cv-2) is also a secreted BMP-binding protein that enhances or inhibits BMP signaling. Unlike Sog, however, Cv-2 does not promote signaling by transporting BMPs. Rather, Cv-2 binds cell surfaces and heparan sulfate proteoglygans and acts over a short range. Cv-2 binds the type I BMP receptor Thickveins (Tkv), and we demonstrate how the exchange of BMPs between Cv-2 and receptor can produce the observed biphasic response to Cv-2 concentration, where low levels promote and high levels inhibit signaling. Importantly, we show also how the concentration or type of BMP present can determine whether Cv-2 promotes or inhibits signaling. We also find that Cv-2 expression is controlled by BMP signaling, and these combined properties enable Cv-2 to exquisitely tune BMP signaling.

Copper deprivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae induces transcription of the FRE1 and CTR1 genes. FRE1 encodes a surface reductase capable of reducing and mobilizing copper chelates outside the cell, and CTR1 encodes a protein mediating copper uptake at the plasma membrane. In this paper, the protein encoded by MAC1 is identified as the factor mediating this homeostatic control. A novel dominant allele of MAC1, MAC1 up2 , is mutated in a Cys-rich domain that may function in copper sensing (a G to A change of nucleotide 812 resulting in a Cys-271 to Tyr substitution). This mutant is functionally similar to the MAC1 up1 allele in which His-279 in the same domain has been replaced by Gln. Both mutations confer constitutive copper-independent expression of FRE1 and CTR1. A sequence including the palindrome TTTGCTCA . . . TGAGCAAA, appearing within the 5-flanking region of the CTR1 promoter, is necessary and sufficient for the copper-and MAC1-dependent CTR1 transcriptional regulation. An identical sequence appears as a direct repeat in the FRE1 promoter. The data indicate that the signal resulting from copper deprivation is transduced via the Cys-rich motif of MAC1 encompassing residues 264 -279. MAC1 then binds directly and specifically to the CTR1 and FRE1 promoter elements, inducing transcription of those target genes. This model defines the homeostatic mechanism by which yeast regulates the cell acquisition of copper in response to copper scarcity or excess.

In many developing systems, the fate of a cell is determined by its position in a time-independent spatial distribution of a morphogen. However, during dorsal-ventral patterning in the Drosophila embryo, an initial low-level signal refines to a narrow, highintensity band. This refinement suggests that cells respond to the local transient morphogen distribution that results from interactions between bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), their receptors, the BMP-binding proteins Sog and Tsg, the metalloprotease Tld, and a putative, positively regulated component that locally enhances surface binding of BMPs within the region of high signaling. We develop a computational model for dorsal surface patterning and show that, when positive feedback of a cell surface BMP-binding protein is incorporated, bistability in the kinetic interactions transduces the transient BMP distribution into a switch-like spatial distribution of the BMP-bound receptor. We also show that the inclusion of positive feedback leads to the observed contraction of signaling, because cells near the dorsal midline outcompete adjacent lateral cells for limited amounts of BMP. In the model, cells interpret the morphogen distribution by differentiating according to the history of their exposure rather than to a threshold concentration in a static spatial gradient of the morphogen.mathematical model ͉ morphogen ͉ robustness ͉ positive feedback P atterning of the dorsal surface of the Drosophila embryo is mediated by a heterodimer of the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Screw (Scw) (1-3). High concentrations of the heterodimer Dpp͞Scw specify the presumptive amnioserosa along the dorsal midline (DM), whereas lower levels of Dpp͞Scw along with Dpp and Scw homodimers specify the lateral dorsal ectoderm (1,4,5). Dpp͞ Scw signals through a heteromeric complex comprising Punt, a type II receptor, and two type I receptors, Thick veins (Tkv) and Saxophone (Sax) (6-8). BMP-occupied receptors (BRs) phosphorylate Mad to produce phosphorylated Mad (pMad), which binds to Medea and translocates to the nucleus, where it regulates the transcription of target genes.The transient evolution of extracellular Dpp͞Scw is controlled by intra-and extracellular processes that interact to produce a spatial pattern of pMad signaling that is initially broad but later refines to form a peak near the DM (Fig. 1 a and b) (9). Hereafter we use ''intracellular'' to refer to the syncytium, and we use ''extracellular'' to denote the perivitelline (PV) space. The extracellular Dpp͞Scw distribution is modulated by interactions of Dpp͞Scw with Short gastrulation (Sog) (10, 11), Twisted gastrulation (Tsg) (12, 13), and Tolloid (Tld) (14, 15). Sog and Tsg are BMP-binding proteins that form a high-affinity complex for the Dpp͞Scw heterodimer (1), whereas Tld is a metalloprotease that cleaves Sog only when bound to ligand. Dpp͞Scw, Tsg, and Tld are all broadly expressed within the dorsal domain, whereas Sog is produced in the adjacent ventral͞ lateral neuroectoderm reg...

The organization of neuronal wiring into layers and columns is a common feature of both vertebrate and invertebrate brains. In the Drosophila visual system, each R7 photoreceptor axon projects within a single column to a specific layer of the optic lobe. We refer to the restriction of terminals to single columns as tiling. In a genetic screen based on an R7-dependent behavior, we identified the Activin receptor Baboon and the nuclear import adaptor Importin-alpha3 as being required to prevent R7 axon terminals from overlapping with the terminals of R7s in neighboring columns. This tiling function requires the Baboon ligand, dActivin, the transcription factor, dSmad2, and retrograde transport from the growth cone to the R7 nucleus. We propose that dActivin is an autocrine signal that restricts R7 growth cone motility, and we demonstrate that it acts in parallel with a paracrine signal that mediates repulsion between R7 terminals.

Neurotransmitter receptor recruitment at postsynaptic specializations is key in synaptogenesis, since this step confers functionality to the nascent synapse. The Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a glutamatergic synapse, similar in composition and function to mammalian central synapses. Various mechanisms regulating the extent of postsynaptic ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) clustering have been described, but none are known to be essential for the initial localization and clustering of iGluRs at postsynaptic densities (PSDs). We identified and characterized the Drosophila neto (neuropilin and tolloid-like) as an essential gene required for clustering of iGluRs at the NMJ. Neto colocalizes with the iGluRs at the PSDs in puncta juxtaposing the active zones. neto loss-of-function phenotypes parallel the loss-of-function defects described for iGluRs. The defects in neto mutants are effectively rescued by muscle-specific expression of neto transgenes. Neto clustering at the Drosophila NMJ coincides with and is dependent on iGluRs. Our studies reveal that Drosophila Neto is a novel, essential component of the iGluR complexes and is required for iGluR clustering, organization of PSDs, and synapse functionality.

Proper axon pathfinding requires that growth cones execute appropriate turns and branching at particular choice points en route to their synaptic targets. Here we demonstrate that the Drosophila metalloprotease tolloid-related (tlr) is required for proper fasciculation/defasciculation of motor axons in the CNS and for normal guidance of many motor axons enroute to their muscle targets. Tlr belongs to a family of developmentally important proteases that process various extracellular matrix components, as well as several TGF-␤ inhibitory proteins and pro-peptides. We show that Tlr is a circulating enzyme that processes the pro-domains of three Drosophila TGF-␤-type ligands, and, in the case of the Activin-like protein Dawdle (Daw), this processing enhances the signaling activity of the ligand in vitro and in vivo. Null mutants of daw, as well as mutations in its receptor babo and its downstream mediator Smad2, all exhibit axon guidance defects that are similar to but less severe than tlr. We suggest that by activating Daw and perhaps other TGF-␤ ligands, Tlr provides a permissive signal for axon guidance.

Glutamate receptors are ligand gated tetrameric ion channels that mediate synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. They are instrumental in vertebrate cognition and their dysfunction underlies diverse diseases1,2. In both the resting and desensitized states of AMPA and kainate subtype glutamate receptors the ion channels are closed while the ligand binding domain, which is physically coupled to the channel, adopts dramatically different conformations3–6. Without an atomic model for the desensitized state, it is not possible to address a central question in receptor gating: how the resting and desensitized receptor states both display closed ion channels, even though they have major differences in quaternary structure of the ligand binding domain. By determining the cryo-EM structure of the kainate receptor GluK2 subtype in its desensitized state at 3.8 Å resolution, we show that desensitization is characterized by establishment of a ring-like structure in the ligand binding domain layer of the receptor. Formation of this “desensitization ring” is mediated by staggered helix contacts between adjacent subunits, which leads to a pseudo four-fold symmetric arrangement of the ligand binding domains, illustrating subtle changes in symmetry that are at the heart of the gating mechanism. Disruption of the desensitization ring is likely the key switch that enables restoration of the receptor to its resting state, thereby completing the gating cycle.

The Drosophila tolloid (tld) and tolloid related(tlr) gene products belong to a family of developmentally important proteases that includes Bone Morphogenetic Protein 1 (Bmp1). Tld is required early in Drosophila development for proper patterning of dorsal embryonic structures, whereas Tlr is required later during larval and pupal stages of development. The major function of Tld is to augment the activity of Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Screw (Scw), two members of the Bmp subgroup of the Tgfβ superfamily, by cleaving the Bmp inhibitor Short gastrulation (Sog). In this study, we provide evidence that Tlr also contributes to Sog processing. Tlr cleaves Sog in vitro in a Bmp-dependent manner at the same three major sites as does Tld. However, Tlr shows different site selection preferences and cleaves Sog with slower kinetics. To test whether these differences are important in vivo, we investigated the role of Tlr and Tld during development of the posterior crossvein (PCV) in the pupal wing. We show that tlr mutants lack the PCV as a result of too little Bmp signaling. This is probably caused by excess Sog activity, as the phenotype can be suppressed by lowering Sog levels. However, Tld cannot substitute for Tlr in the PCV; in fact, misexpressed Tld can cause loss of the PCV. Reducing levels of Sog can also cause loss of the PCV, indicating that Sog has not only an inhibitory but also a positive effect on signaling in the PCV. We propose that the specific catalytic properties of Tlr and Tld have evolved to achieve the proper balance between the inhibitory and positive activities of Sog in the PCV and early embryo, respectively. We further suggest that, as in the embryo, the positive effect of Sog upon Bmp signaling probably stems from its role in a ligand transport process.