Long-lasting forms of memory require protein synthesis, but how the pattern of synthesis is related to the storage of a memory has not been determined. Here we show that neural activity directs the mRNA of the Drosophila Ca(2+), Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Kinase II (CaMKII), to postsynaptic sites, where it is rapidly translated. These features of CaMKII synthesis are recapitulated during the induction of a long-term memory and produce patterns of local protein synthesis specific to the memory. We show that mRNA transport and synaptic protein synthesis are regulated by components of the RISC pathway, including the SDE3 helicase Armitage, which is specifically required for long-lasting memory. Armitage is localized to synapses and lost in a memory-specific pattern that is inversely related to the pattern of synaptic protein synthesis. Therefore, we propose that degradative control of the RISC pathway underlies the pattern of synaptic protein synthesis associated with a stable memory.
In our paper, some of the Western blots contained incorrectly prepared anti-Tubulin panels that served as ''loading controls.'' We have corrected these panels by repeating the experiments displayed in Figures 5G, 5P, and 6H. The new data, with appropriately modified figure legends, are shown below. These new results and the conclusions do not differ from those in our publication. We apologize for these errors.
The Snail protein functions as a transcriptional regulator to establish early mesodermal cell fate. Later, in germ band-extended embryos, Snail is also expressed in most neuroblasts. Here we present evidence that this expression of Snail is required for central nervous system (CNS) development. The neural function of snail is masked by two closely linked genes, escargot and worniu. Both Escargot and Worniu contain zincfinger domains that are highly homologous to that of Snail. Although not affecting expression of early neuroblast markers, the deletion of the region containing all three genes correlates with loss of expression of CNS determinants including fushi tarazu, pdm-2 and even-skipped. Transgenic expression of each of the three Snail family proteins can rescue efficiently the fushi tarazu defects, and partially the pdm-2 and even-skipped CNS patterns. These results demonstrate that the Snail family proteins have essential functions during embryonic CNS development, around the time of ganglion mother cell formation.
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