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Vol. 20, Issue 6, 1661-1670, March 15, 2009

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Coilin Is Essential for Cajal Body Organization in Drosophila melanogaster

Ji-Long Liu^*,, Zheng'an Wu^*, Zehra Nizami^*, Svetlana Deryusheva^*, T.K. Rajendra, Kelly J. Beumer, Hongjuan Gao^*, A. Gregory Matera, Dana Carroll, and Joseph G. Gall^*

*Carnegie Institution, Department of Embryology, Baltimore, MD 21218; Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QX, United Kingdom; Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; and Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Submitted May 27, 2008; Revised December 23, 2008; Accepted January 9, 2009
Monitoring Editor: Marvin Wickens

Cajal bodies (CBs) are nuclear organelles that occur in a variety of organisms, including vertebrates, insects, and plants. They are most often identified with antibodies against the marker protein coilin. Because the amino acid sequence of coilin is not strongly conserved evolutionarily, coilin orthologues have been difficult to recognize by homology search. Here, we report the identification of Drosophila melanogaster coilin and describe its distribution in tissues of the fly. Surprisingly, we found coilin not only in CBs but also in histone locus bodies (HLBs), calling into question the use of coilin as an exclusive marker for CBs. We analyzed two null mutants in the coilin gene and a piggyBac insertion mutant, which leads to specific loss of coilin from the germline. All three mutants are homozygous viable and fertile. Cells that lack coilin also lack distinct foci of other CB markers, including fibrillarin, the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein, U2 small nuclear RNA (snRNA), U5 snRNA, and the small CB-specific (sca) RNA U85. However, HLBs are not obviously affected in coilin-null flies. Thus, coilin is required for normal CB organization in Drosophila but is not essential for viability or production of functional gametes.

Address correspondence to: Joseph G. Gall (gall{at}ciwemb.edu)

Abbreviations used: CB, Cajal body; HLB, histone locus body; SMN, survival motor neuron.

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