Figure 1.

CK2 kinase activity is essential for Drosophila oogenesis. A, identification of novel kinase regulators of Drosophila oogenesis. The indicated 78 kinases (on the x axis) were knocked down in the female germ line using nanos-Gal4:VP16-driven shRNA. Shown are box plots depicting egg laying rates of these flies (n = 20). Bars indicate the first to third quartiles, horizontal black lines denote the median, and circles denote outliers. Red bars indicate kinases whose reduced expression resulted in decreased numbers of eggs laid, whereas green bars indicate kinases whose reduced expression caused an increase in the number of eggs laid. The blue bar denotes the egg laying rate of flies expressing a control shRNA. Whiskers represent the upper and lower limits of the range. Statistical significance was determined using a Mann-Whitney U test. B, reduced ovarian size upon reduction of CK2 expression. Ovaries from flies of the indicated genotypes were dissected and imaged by light microscopy. Scale bar, 1 mm. C, egg laying rates from flies of the indicated genotypes. Expression of shRNA and/or transgenes was driven using either nanos-Gal4 (green) or matα-Gal4 (blue). Data are presented as in A. D, transgenic expression of epitope-tagged human CK2α and CK2β in the Drosophila female germ line. Ovary lysates were prepared, resolved by SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted with the indicated antibodies. Note that CK2α-HA migrates as a doublet.