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Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada

Correspondence to Paul Lasko: paul.lasko{at}mcgill.ca

Experiments in cultured cells with Ran-binding protein M (RanBPM) suggest that it links cell surface receptors and cell adhesion proteins. In this study, we undertake a genetic study of RanBPM function in the germline stem cell (GSC) niche of Drosophila melanogaster ovaries. We find that two RanBPM isoforms are produced from alternatively spliced transcripts, the longer of which is specifically enriched in the GSC niche, a cluster of somatic cells that physically anchors GSCs and expresses signals that maintain GSC fate. Loss of the long isoform from the niche causes defects in niche organization and cell size and increases the number of GSCs attached to the niche. In genetic mosaics for a null RanBPM allele, we find a strong bias for GSC attachment to mutant cap cells and observe abnormal accumulation of the adherens junction component Armadillo (β-catenin) and the membrane skeletal protein Hu-li tai shao in mutant terminal filament cells. These results implicate RanBPM in the regulation of niche capacity and adhesion.

Abbreviations used in this paper: Arm, Armadillo; Bam, Bag of marbles; CpC, cap cell; CTLH, C terminal to LisH; FRT, Flip recombinase target; GSC, germline stem cell; Hts, Hu-li tai shao; LamC, lamin C; LisH, lissencephaly homology; RanBPM, Ran-binding protein M; TF, terminal filament; UTR, untranslated region.

© 2008 Dansereau and Lasko This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.jcb.org/misc/terms.shtml). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).

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