Identification of Genes Required for Apical Protein Trafficking in Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells.

Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptor cells are highly polarized epithelial cells. Their apical membrane is further subdivided into the stalk membrane and the light-sensing rhabdomere. The photo-pigment Rhodopsin1 (Rh1) localizes to the rhabdomere, whereas the apical determinant Crumbs (Crb) is enriched at the stalk membrane. The proteoglycan Eyes shut (Eys) is secreted through the apical membrane into an inter-rhabdomeral space. Rh1, Crb, and Eys are essential for the development of photoreceptor cells, normal vision, and photoreceptor cell survival. Human orthologs of all three proteins have been linked to retinal degenerative diseases. Here, we describe an RNAi-based screen examining the importance of 237 trafficking-related genes in apical trafficking of Eys, Rh1, and Crb. We found 28 genes that have an effect on the localization and/or levels of these apical proteins and analyzed several factors in more detail. We show that the Arf GEF protein Sec71 is required for biosynthetic traffic of both apical and basolateral proteins, that the exocyst complex and the microtubule-based motor proteins dynein and kinesin promote the secretion of Eys and Rh1, and that Syntaxin 7/Avalanche controls the endocytosis of Rh1, Eys, and Crb.

Variation in the strength and softness of selection on deleterious mutations.

Deleterious alleles constantly enter populations through mutation. Understanding the nature of selection against such alleles is required to assess their impact on populations. In a subdivided population, two distinct aspects of selection are important: the strength and softness of selection. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we estimated both aspects of selection for each of eight loci across two environments. These data allow us to test conflicting predictions about the factors affecting the softness of selection. First, we show that the softness of selection is not determined by ecological conditions alone. Second, we find that resource limitation makes selection stronger but does not make it softer. Third, we find that wild-type individuals tend to benefit more than mutants from being reared with competitors of low genetic quality. This means that selection is effectively "harder" on mutants than wild types. A model is presented showing that the sensitivities of mutants and wild types to local competitors differentially affect equilibrium mutation frequency and measures of load.