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Resources » Paper

Klosterman, Susan M. et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "VPS-39 promotes synaptic vesicle fusion in C. elegans."

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  • Comments on Klosterman, Susan M. et al. (2013) International Worm Meeting "VPS-39 promotes synaptic vesicle fusion in C. elegans." (0)

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    Status:
    Publication type:
    Meeting_abstract
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00043403

    Klosterman, Susan M., Yu, Szi-Chieh, Burdina, Anna O., & Richmond, Janet E. (2013). VPS-39 promotes synaptic vesicle fusion in C. elegans presented in International Worm Meeting. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    C. elegans tomosyn (TOM-1) negatively regulates synaptic transmission through interactions with syntaxin and SNAP-25, components of the core vesicle fusion machinery. In a yeast two-hybrid screen for TOM-1 binding partners, we identified an additional interactor, VPS-39, which is a highly conserved member of the HOPS (homotypic fusion and protein transport) complex. Since the HOPS complex has been implicated in the regulation of SNARE-dependent fusion, we obtained vps-39 mutants from the CGC to examine the potential role of this protein in synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Homozygous vps-39 mutants from a GFP balanced strain, grow to adulthood but lay dead embryos. A vps-39 translational mCherry fusion construct, capable of rescuing this embryonic lethality, indicates that VPS-39 is expressed in many tissues, including neurons. Furthermore, the vps-39 mutants exhibit pharmacological, electrophysiological and ultrastructural evidence of reduced neurotransmitter release. Both the lethality and synaptic defects of vps-39 mutants can be reversed by expressing VPS-39 specifically in neurons, indicating that these functions are cell autonomous. Epistasis experiments suggest that VPS-39 functions upstream of the priming factor, UNC-13. Experiments are presently underway to explore the relationship between VPS-39 and TOM-1 function in the synaptic vesicle cycle and further define which stage of the release process is impacted.

    Affiliation:
    - Dept Biol, Univ Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL.


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