Psidin, a conserved protein that regulates protrusion dynamics and cell migration

Abstract

Dynamic assembly and disassembly of actin filaments is a major driving force for cell movements. Border cells in the Drosophila ovary provide a simple and genetically tractable model to study the mechanisms regulating cell migration. To identify new genes that regulate cell movement in vivo, we screened lethal mutations on chromosome 3R for defects in border cell migration and identified two alleles of the gene psidin (psid). In vitro, purified Psid protein bound F-actin and inhibited the interaction of tropomyosin with F-actin. In vivo, psid mutations exhibited genetic interactions with the genes encoding tropomyosin and cofilin. Border cells overexpressing Psid together with GFP-actin exhi..