QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Vol. 19, Issue 10, 4122-4129, October 2008

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Materials All Versions of this Article: E07-10-1079v1 19/10/4122    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stone, M. C. Articles by Rolls, M. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stone, M. C. Articles by Rolls, M. M.

Microtubules Have Opposite Orientation in Axons and Dendrites of Drosophila Neurons

Michelle C. Stone^*, Fabrice Roegiers, and Melissa M. Rolls^*

*Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; and Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Submitted October 26, 2007; Revised July 9, 2008; Accepted July 18, 2008
Monitoring Editor: Yixian Zheng

In vertebrate neurons, axons have a uniform arrangement of microtubules with plus ends distal to the cell body (plus-end-out), and dendrites have equal numbers of plus- and minus-end-out microtubules. To determine whether microtubule orientation is a conserved feature of axons and dendrites, we analyzed microtubule orientation in invertebrate neurons. Using microtubule plus end dynamics, we mapped microtubule orientation in Drosophila sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. As expected, all axonal microtubules have plus-end-out orientation. However, in proximal dendrites of all classes of neuron, 90% of dendritic microtubules were oriented with minus ends distal to the cell body. This result suggests that minus-end-out, rather than mixed orientation, microtubules are the signature of the dendritic microtubule cytoskeleton. Surprisingly, our map of microtubule orientation predicts that there are no tracks for direct cargo transport between the cell body and dendrites in unipolar neurons. We confirm this prediction, and validate the completeness of our map, by imaging endosome movements in motor neurons. As predicted by our map, endosomes travel smoothly between the cell body and axon, but they cannot move directly between the cell body and dendrites.

Address correspondence to: Melissa M. Rolls (mur22{at}psu.edu)

Abbreviations used: da, dendritic arborization.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Bitan, G. M. Guild, D. Bar-Dubin, and U. Abdu Asymmetric Microtubule Function Is an Essential Requirement for Polarized Organization of the Drosophila Bristle Mol. Cell. Biol., January 15, 2010; 30(2): 496 - 507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Zhou, M. M. Rolls, D. H. Hall, C. J. Malone, and W. Hanna-Rose A ZYG-12-dynein interaction at the nuclear envelope defines cytoskeletal architecture in the C. elegans gonad J. Cell Biol., July 27, 2009; 186(2): 229 - 241. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. J. Russo, K. Louie, A. Wellington, G. T. Macleod, F. Hu, S. Panchumarthi, and K. E. Zinsmaier Drosophila Miro Is Required for Both Anterograde and Retrograde Axonal Mitochondrial Transport J. Neurosci., April 29, 2009; 29(17): 5443 - 5455. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Corty, B. J. Matthews, and W. B. Grueber Molecules and mechanisms of dendrite development in Drosophila Development, April 1, 2009; 136(7): 1049 - 1061. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]