Figure 9. Vps13A mutants show a lipid droplet phenotype in the Drosophila adult eye, which can be rescued by ectopic expression of the human VPS13A.

(A) Optical section (A) and schematic (A’) of a Drosophila adult ommatidium, taken at the height of the cone cells (Ready, 1989). Cone cells (c), pigment cells (1°, 2°, 3°) and bristles (b) are indicated in different colors. Naturally occurring or (in mutants) ectopically accumulating LDs (red circles) are found in the pigment cells (Liu et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2017). (B,C) Optical cross-section and longitudinal section through the adult eye of Drosophila control (B/B’) and Vps13 homozygous mutant flies (C/C’) at day 5 past eclosion. Nile Red was used to reveal the presence of LDs (red arrow heads) in the pigment cells. (D) Optical cross-sections through the adult eye of Vps13 homozygous mutant flies, control flies and Vps13 homozygous mutant flies expressing human VPS13A at day 3 after eclosion. Nile Red was used to detect LDs. D:Vps13/Vps13, (=Vps13 homozygous mutant). D’: Vps13/Vps13;hVPS13A/Act-Gal4 (=Vps13 homozygous mutant expressing human VPS13A). D’: Vps13/+;UAS-hVPS13A/Act-Gal4 (heterozygous for Vps13 expressing human VPS13A). (E) Western blot to demonstrate the absence of Drosophila Vps13 in mutant flies and the expression of human VPS13A in the rescued Drosophila Vps13 mutant background. Samples marked with a red asterisk were used for the Nile Red staining in the rescue experiment (D–D’’). Scale bars = 10 μm (B–D).

Figure 9—figure supplement 1. Scan of original blots for Figure 9.