Mutations in the orphan gene C19orf12 were identified as a genetic cause in a subgroup of patients with NBIA, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by deposits of iron in the basal ganglia. C19orf12 was shown to be localized in mitochondria, however, nothing is known about its activity and no functional link exists to the clinical phenotype of the patients. This situation led us to investigate the effects of C19orf12 down-regulation in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Two genes are present in D. melanogaster, which are orthologs of C19orf12, CG3740 and CG11671. Here we provide evidence that transgenic flies with impaired C19orf12 homologs reflect the neurodegenerative phenotype and represent a valid tool to further analyze the pathomechanism in C19orf12-associated NBIA.

During central nervous system development, several guidance cues and receptors, as well as cell adhesion molecules, are required for guiding axons across the midline and along the anteriorposterior axis. In Drosophila, commissural axons sense the midline attractants Netrin A and B (Net) through Frazzled (Fra) receptors. Despite their importance, lack of Net or fra affects only some commissures, suggesting that additional molecules can fulfill this function. Recently, planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins have been implicated in midline axon guidance in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems. Here, we report that the atypical cadherin and PCP molecule Flamingo/Starry night (Fmi/Stan) acts jointly with Net/Fra signaling during midline development. Additional removal of fmi strongly increases the guidance defects in Net/fra mutants. Rescue and domain deletion experiments suggest that Fmi signaling facilitates commissural pathfinding potentially by mediating axonal fasciculation in a partly homophilic manner. Altogether, our results indicate that contact-mediated cell adhesion via Fmi acts in addition to the Net/Fra guidance system during axon pathfinding across the midline, underlining the importance of PCP molecules during vertebrates and invertebrates midline development.

Deciphering the mechanisms of sensory neural map formation is a central aim in neurosciences. Failure to form a correct map frequently leads to defects in sensory processing and perception. The olfactory map develops in subsequent steps initially forming a rough and later a precise map of glomeruli in the antennal lobe (AL), mainly consisting of olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axons and projection neuron (PN) dendrites. The mechanisms underpinning the later stage of class-specific glomerulus formation are not understood. Recent studies have shown that the important guidance molecule Eph and its ligand ephrin play a role in class-specific PN targeting. Here, we reveal aspects of the mechanism downstream of Eph signaling during olfactory map formation. We show that the Eph-specific RhoGEF Ephexin (Exn) is required to fine tune PN dendrite patterning within specific glomeruli. We provide the first report showing an in vivo neurite guidance defect in an exn mutant. Interestingly, the quality of the phenotypes is different between eph and exn mutants; while loss of Eph leads to strong misprojections of DM3/Or47a neurons along the medial-lateral axis of the antennal lobe (AL), loss of Exn induces ventral ectopic innervation of a neighboring glomerulus. Genetic interaction experiments suggest that differential signaling of the small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 mediated by Exn-dependent and -independent Eph signaling fine tunes spatial targeting of PN dendrites within the olfactory map. We propose that their distinct activities on the actin cytoskeleton are required for precise navigation of PN dendrites within the olfactory map. Taken together, our results suggest that the precise connectivity of an individual neuron can depend on different modes of signaling downstream of a single guidance receptor. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 00: 000-000, 2018.