Characterization of acdc14null allele inDrosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Cdc14 is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine phosphatase. Originally identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a cell cycle regulator, its role in other eukaryotic organisms remains unclear. In Drosophila melanogaster, Cdc14 is encoded by a single gene, thus facilitating its study. We found that Cdc14 expression is highest in the testis of adult flies and that cdc14 null flies are viable. cdc14 null female and male flies do not display altered fertility. cdc14 null males, however, exhibit decreased sperm competitiveness. Previous studies have shown that Cdc14 plays a role in ciliogenesis during zebrafish development. In Drosophila, sensory neurons are ciliated. We found that the Drosophila cdc14 null mutants have defects in chemosensation and mechanosensation as indicated by decreased avoidance of repellant substances and decreased response to touch. In addition, we show that cdc14 null mutants have defects in lipid metabolism and resistance to starvation. These studies highlight the diversity of Cdc14 function in eukaryotes despite its structural conservation.

Cdc14 and PP2A Phosphatases Cooperate to Shape Phosphoproteome Dynamics during Mitotic Exit

“…Cdc14 has important roles in higher eukaryotes, including ciliated sensory cell function, making Cdc14 essential for hearing and male fertility in mouse and humans (Imtiaz et al., 2018, Neitzel et al., 2018). However, organisms aside from budding yeast survive and successfully complete cell division cycles without Cdc14.…”

Conservation of Cdc14 phosphatase specificity in plant fungal pathogens: implications for antifungal development

“…However, the phenotypes reported for Cdc14 loss of function in animals with a single CDC14 gene suggest that side effects from collateral Cdc14 inhibition may be negligible. C. elegans and D. melanogaster develop normally and live full lives with very mild phenotypes in the absence of Cdc14 function 20,24 . In vertebrates, which typically have two widely expressed Cdc14 homologs, A and B, that exhibit distinct intracellular localization patterns and apparent functions 25 , full Cdc14 loss of function phenotypes have not yet been reported.…”

“…First, CDC14 may be absent in most land plant genomes based on similarity searching of a handful of model plant genome sequences 17,18 . Second, deletion of CDC14 genes in several model animal systems had little to no impact on cell division and development [19][20][21][22][23][24] . In general, Cdc14 functions are thought to be poorly conserved between animals and fungi 25 , despite the apparently high conservation of Cdc14 structure between these lineages 26,27 .…”

The Multiple Roles of the Cdc14 Phosphatase in Cell Cycle Control

“…These observations demonstrate a direct role for the Cdc14 phosphatase in autophagy (Figure 1). Remarkably, this function seems to be also conserved, as suggested by the fact that a cdc14 null mutant in Drosophila melanogaster is defective in its resistance to starvation [124]. As a whole, the cumulative pile of evidence connecting Cdc14 activity with the response to different types of stress strongly suggests that this phosphatase constitutes a central hub for the coordination of cell cycle progression with both intra-and extra-cellular signals that ensures a faithful completion of genome duplication and cell division after the exposure to adverse situations at different cell cycle stages.…”