Fig. 5.
Developmental principal cell mesh knockdown in the Drosophila Malpighian tubule results in mislocalization of other smooth septate junction (sSJ) proteins. In the main segment of 1-day-old adult control female fly anterior tubules (w;c42-GAL4/+), Mesh colocalizes with Discs large (Dlg; A–A′′), tetraspanin 2A (Tsp2A; C), and Snakeskin (Ssk; E) at sSJs. In the main segment of principal cell mesh knockdown tubules (w;UAS-meshRNAi/+;c42-GAL4/+), in which Mesh signal is not detected (B), Dlg (B′ and B′′), Tsp2A (D and D′), and Ssk (F and F′) are distributed diffusely throughout the tubule epithelial cells. Some Dlg expression is still seen at sSJs (arrows in B′′). B′′, D′, and F′ show higher-magnification images of dashed-box areas in B′, D, and F, respectively. Nuclei were counterstained blue with DAPI. RNAi, RNA interference. Ten samples per genotype were examined. Scale bars, 50 μm.