JCB logo
Accuri Cytometers
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
Published online
doi:10.1083/jcb.200812146
The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 185, No. 5, 787-796
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $30.00
© McGill et al.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 5249K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JCB
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McGill, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Harris, T. J.C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by McGill, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Harris, T. J.C.
Related Collections
Right arrowRelated Article
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Report

Independent cadherin–catenin and Bazooka clusters interact to assemble adherens junctions



Melanie A. McGill, R.F. Andrew McKinley, and Tony J.C. Harris

Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada

Correspondence to Tony J.C. Harris: tony.harris{at}utoronto.ca

Proper epithelial structure requires adherens junction (AJ) assembly. In the early Drosophila embryo, AJ assembly depends on Bazooka (Baz; PAR-3), but it is unclear how Baz affects AJ assembly and what precursors are involved. To understand this process at the molecular level, we counted the number of core AJ proteins and Baz proteins at an average spot AJ (SAJ) and determined their dynamics with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments. These data reveal that SAJs are subdivided into Baz clusters and cadherin–catenin clusters with independent protein numbers and dynamics. This independence suggests that precursory cadherin–catenin clusters might form before SAJ assembly. We identify cadherin–catenin clusters forming between apical microvilli. Further analyses show that they form independently of Baz and that Baz functions in repositioning them to apicolateral sites for full SAJ assembly. Our data implicate cell protrusions in initial cadherin–catenin clustering in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo. Then, independent Baz clusters appear to engage the cadherin–catenin clusters to assemble SAJs.

M.A. McGill and R.F.A. McKinley contributed equally to this paper.

Abbreviations used in this paper: AJ, adherens junction; Arm, Armadillo; Baz, Bazooka; BJ, basal junction; DE-cad, Drosophila E-cadherin; IM, intervening membrane; MT, microtubule; RFI, relative fluorescent intensity; SAJ, spot AJ; WT, wild type.

© 2009 McGill et al.
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/).


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?

Related Article

Dynamics of staying put
Ruth Williams
J. Cell Biol. 2009 185: 756. [Full Text] [PDF]



This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents