Scanning electron microscopy image showing the muscles in the body wall of a fly larva. The protein Collier has been selectively deactivated in one muscle (highlighted in red) provoking abnormal attachment and branching of the muscle fiber. Image credit: Carayon et al. (CC BY 4.0)
Each muscle in the body has a unique size, shape and set of attachment points. Animals need all of their muscles to have the correct identity to help maintain posture and control movement. A specific set of proteins, called transcription factors, co-ordinate and regulate gene activity in cells so that each muscle develops in the right way.
To create a muscle, multiple precursor cells fuse together to form a muscle fibre, which then elongates and attaches to specific sites. Correct attachment is critical so that the fibre is properly oriented. When this process goes wrong, for example in disease, muscle fibres sometimes attach to the wrong site; they become branched and cannot work properly.
Collier is a transcription factor protein that controls muscle identity in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. However, like many transcription factors, Collier also has several other roles throughout the body. This made it difficult to evaluate the effect of the protein on the formation of specific muscles.
Here, Carayon et al. managed to selectively deactivate Collier in just one muscle per body section in the larvae of fruit flies. This showed that the transcription factor is needed throughout muscle development; in particular, it is required for muscle fibres to select the correct attachment sites, and to be properly oriented. Affected muscles showed an altered orientation, with branched fibres attaching to the wrong site. Even minor changes, which only affect a single muscle from each body segment, greatly impaired the movement of the larvae.
The work by Carayon et al. offers a new approach to the study of muscular conditions. Branched muscles are seen in severe human illnesses such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Studying the impact of these changes in a living animal could help to understand how this disease progress, and how it can be prevented.
