Yorkie controls tube length and apical barrier integrity during airway development

Kassiani Skouloudaki, Ioannis Christodoulou, Dilan Khalili, Vasilios Tsarouhas, Christos Samakovlis, Pavel Tomancak, Elisabeth Knust, Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Epithelial organ size and shape depend on cell shape changes, cell–matrix communication, and apical membrane growth. The Drosophila melanogaster embryonic tracheal network is an excellent model to study these processes. Here, we show that the transcriptional coactivator of the Hippo pathway, Yorkie (YAP/TAZ in vertebrates), plays distinct roles in the developing Drosophila airways. Yorkie exerts a cytoplasmic function by binding Drosophila Twinstar, the orthologue of the vertebrate actin-severing protein Cofilin, to regulate F-actin levels and apical cell membrane size, which are required for proper tracheal tube elongation. Second, Yorkie controls water tightness of tracheal tubes by transcriptional regulation of the δ-aminolevulinate synthase gene (Alas). We conclude that Yorkie has a dual role in tracheal development to ensure proper tracheal growth and functionality.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2762-2781
JournalJournal of Cell Biology
Volume218
Issue number8
Early online date17 Jul 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2019

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