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Published Online July 20, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1127704

Reports

Submitted on March 21, 2006
Accepted on July 12, 2006

The Mevalonate Pathway Controls Heart Formation in Drosophila by Isoprenylation of G{gamma}1

Peng Yi 1, Zhe Han 1*, Xiumin Li 1, Eric N. Olson 1*

1 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Zhe Han , E-mail: zhe.han{at}utsouthwestern.edu
Eric N. Olson , E-mail: eric.olson{at}utsouthwestern.edu

The early morphogenetic mechanisms involved in heart formation are evolutionarily conserved. A screen for genes that control Drosophila heart development revealed a cardiac defect in which pericardial and cardial cells dissociate, causing loss of cardiac function and embryonic lethality. This phenotype resulted from mutations in the genes encoding HMG-CoA reductase, downstream enzymes in the mevalonate pathway, and G-protein G{gamma}1, which is geranylgeranylated, thus representing an endpoint of isoprenoid biosynthesis. Our findings reveal a cardial cell-autonomous requirement of G{gamma}1 geranylgeranylation for heart formation and suggest the involvement of the mevalonate pathway in congenital heart disease.


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PLANT CELL 19, 3974-3989
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)