Formin 3 stabilizes the cytoskeleton of Drosophila tendon cells, thus enabling them to resist muscle tensile forces
Pissarek H, Huang N, Frasch LH, Aberle H, Frasch M (2025)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2025
Journal
Book Volume: 138
Journal Issue: 7
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.263543
Abstract
The cytoskeleton of Drosophila tendon cells features specialized F-actin and microtubule arrays that endow these cells with resistance to the tensile forces exerted by the attached muscles. In a forward genetic screen for mutants with neuromuscular junction and muscle morphology phenotypes in larvae, we identified formin 3 (form3) as a crucial component for stabilizing these cytoskeletal arrays under muscle tension. form3 mutants exhibit severely stretched tendon cells in contact with directly attached larval body wall muscles, leading to muscle retraction and rounding. Both the actomyosin and microtubule arrays are expanded likewise in these mutants and can separate laterally in extreme cases. Analysis of a natively HA-tagged, functional version of Form3 reveals that Form3 is distributed along the length of these cytoskeletal arrays. Based on our findings and existing data on vertebrate and Caenorhabditis elegans orthologs of form3, we propose that the primary function of Form3 in this context is to co-bundle actin filaments and microtubules, thus maximizing the rigidity of these cytoskeletal structures against muscle tensile forces.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Pissarek, H., Huang, N., Frasch, L.H., Aberle, H., & Frasch, M. (2025). Formin 3 stabilizes the cytoskeleton of Drosophila tendon cells, thus enabling them to resist muscle tensile forces. Journal of cell science, 138(7). https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.263543
MLA:
Pissarek, Helena, et al. "Formin 3 stabilizes the cytoskeleton of Drosophila tendon cells, thus enabling them to resist muscle tensile forces." Journal of cell science 138.7 (2025).
BibTeX: Download