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Vol. 15, Issue 12, 5481-5491, December 2004

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The Role Actin Filaments Play in Providing the Characteristic Curved Form of Drosophila Bristles

Lewis G. Tilney ^*, Patricia S. Connelly ^*, Linda Ruggiero ^*, Kelly A. Vranich ^*, Gregory M. Guild ^* , and David DeRosier 

^* Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018; Department of Biology, W. M. Keck Institute for Cellular Visualization, Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454-9110

Submitted June 11, 2004; Revised August 13, 2004; Accepted August 30, 2004
Monitoring Editor: Paul Matsudaira

Drosophila bristles display a precise orientation and curvature. An asymmetric extension of the socket cell overlies the newly emerging bristle rudiment to provide direction for bristle elongation, a process thought to be orchestrated by the nerve dendrite lying between these cells. Scanning electron microscopic analysis of individual bristles showed that curvature is planar and far greater near the bristle base. Correlated with this, as development proceeds the pupa gradually recedes from the inner pupal case (an extracellular layer that encloses the pupa) leading to less bristle curvature along the shaft. We propose that the inner pupal case induces elongating bristles to bend when they contact this barrier. During elongation the actin cytoskeleton locks in this curvature by grafting together the overlapping modules that comprise the long filament bundles. Because the bristle is curved, the actin bundles on the superior side must be longer than those on the inferior side. This is accomplished during grafting by greater elongation of superior side modules. Poor actin cross-bridging in mutant bristles results in altered curvature. Thus, the pattern of bristle curvature is a product of both extrinsic factors—the socket cell and the inner pupal case—and intrinsic factors—actin cytoskeleton assembly.

The online version of this article contains supplemental material at MBC Online (http://www.molbiolcell.org).

Corresponding author. E-mail address: gguild{at}sas.upenn.edu.

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