Stage 17 embryo of Drosophila melanogaster viewed under polarized light with a 530-mm filter. The birefringent muscles appear yellow or blue depending upon their orientation. See the article by Epstein and Bernstein in this issue. Photograph courtesy of Richard M. Cripps, Steven Barlow, and Sanford I. Bernstein, Department of Biology and Electron Microscope Facility, San Diego State University.

Electron micrographs of Drosophila melanogaster adult indirect flight muscle myofibrils, from flies expressing different levels of myosin heavy-chain protein (MHC). (top left) No MHC produced and skeins of thin filaments are poorly organized in the muscles; (top right) reduced MHC levels allow the formation of cracked myofibrils; (bottom left) normal MHC levels; (bottom right) increased MHC levels resulting in loss of normal filament packing at the periphery of the myofibril. See the related article in this issue by Cripps et al., 689-699.

The cover illustrates the analysis of muscle structure in Drosophila melanogaster, a model organism amenable to genetic manipulation. The background is an electron micrograph of a transverse section from indirect flight muscle. The upper panel shows the muscle-specific expression pattern of a myosin heavy-chain reporter gene. The central panel displays birefringent larval muscle viewed by polarized light microscopy. The lower panel shows in situ hybridization of an antisense RNA probe for paramyosin to a parasagittal section of a mature pupa. The article begins on page 243.

Extremely Hot Research!

The Cripps Laboratory

Publications

1. Cripps, RM and Sparrow, JC (1989) Dominant flightless phenotype of the vestigial-Depilate deficiency of Drosophila melanogaster. Dev. Genet. 10: 98-105.

2. Cripps, RM and Sparrow, JC (1992) Polymorphism in a Drosophila indirect flight muscle -specific tropomyosin isozyme does not affect flight ability. Biochem. Genet. 30: 159-168.

3. Peckham, M, Cripps, RM, White, DCS and Bullard, B (1992) Mechanics and protein content of insect flight muscles. J. Exp. Biol. 168: 57-76.

4. Bernstein, SI, O'Donnell, PT and Cripps, RM (1993) Molecular genetic analysis of muscle development, structure and function in Drosophila. Int. Rev. Cytol. 43: 63-152.

5. Cripps, RM (1994) Conference Report, Muscle Biology Workshop at American Drosophila Research Conference. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 15: 583-585.

6. Cripps, RM, Ball, E, Stark, M, Lawn, A and Sparrow, JC (1994) Recovery of dominant autosomal flightless mutants of Drosophila melanogaster and identification of a new gene required for normal muscle structure and function. Genetics 137: 151-164. PDF

 7. Cripps, RM, Becker, KD, Mardahl, M, Kronert, WA, Hodges, D and Bernstein, SI (1994) Transformation of Drosophila melanogaster with the wild-type myosin heavy-chain gene: rescue of mutant phenotypes and analysis of defects caused by overexpression. J. Cell Biol. 126: 689-699. PDF

8. Cripps, RM (1995) Conference Report, Muscle Biology Workshop and American Drosophila Research Conference. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 16: 567-569.

9. Cripps, RM (1996) Conference Report, Muscle Biology Workshop and American Drosophila Research Conference. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 17: 677-678.

10. Clayton, JD, Cripps, RM, Sparrow, JC and Bullard, B (1998) Interaction of troponin-H and glutathione S-transferase-2 in the indirect flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 19: 117-128. Abstract

11. Cripps, RM, Black, BL, Zhao, B, Lien, C-L and Olson, EN (1998) The myogenic regulatory gene Mef2 is a direct target for transcriptional activation by Twist during Drosophila myogenesis. Genes Dev. 12: 422-434. PDF

12. Cripps, RM and Olson, EN (1998) Twist is required for muscle template splitting during adult Drosophila myogenesis. Dev. Biol. 203: 105-116. Abstract

13. Hodges, D, Cripps, RM, O’Connor, ME and Bernstein, SI (1999) The role of evolutionarily conserved sequences in alternative splicing at the 3’ end of the Drosophila melanogaster myosin heavy chain RNA. Genetics 151: 263-276. PDF

14. Cripps, RM, Suggs, JA and Bernstein, SI (1999) Assembly of thick filaments and myofibrils occurs in the absence of the myosin head. EMBO J. 18: 1793-1804. PDF

15. Cripps, RM, Zhao, B and Olson, EN (1999) Transcription of the myogenic regulatory gene Mef2 in cardiac, somatic and visceral muscle cell lineages is regulated by a Tinman-dependent core enhancer. Dev. Biol. 215: 420-430. Abstract

16. Cripps, RM and Bernstein, SI (2000) Generation of transgenic Drosophila melanogaster by P-element mediated germline transformation. Pps. 93-125 in: “Gene transfer methods: introducing genes into living cells and organisms”, PA Norton and LF Steel, eds. BioTechniques Books, Natick, MA.

17. Arredondo, JJ, Ferreres, RM, Maroto, M, Cripps, RM, Marco, R, Bernstein, SI and Cervera, M (2001) Control of the Drosophila paramyosin/miniparamyosin gene expression: a possible role for MEF2 in structural muscle protein transcriptional regulation. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 8278-8287. PDF

18. Lovato, TL, Meadows, SM, Baker, PW, Sparrow, JC and Cripps, RM. (2001) Characterization of muscle actin genes in Drosophila virilis reveals significant molecular complexity in skeletal muscle types. Insect Mol. Biol. 10: 333-340. PDF

19. Arredondo, JJ, Mardahl-Dumesnil, M, Cripps, RM, Cervera, M, and Bernstein, SI. (2001) Overexpression of mini-paramyosin causes muscle dysfunction and progressive myofibril degeneration in the indirect flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Muscle Res. Cell Motility 22: 287-299. PDF

20. Molina, MR and Cripps, RM. (2001) Ostia, the inflow tracts of the Drosophila heart, develop from a genetically distinct subset of cardial cells. Mech. Dev. 109: 51-59. Abstract

21. Kelly, KK, Meadows, SM and Cripps, RM. (2002) Drosophila Mef2 is an essential regulator of Actin57B transcription in cardiac, skeletal and visceral muscle lineages. Mech. Dev. 110: 39-50. Abstract

22. Cripps, RM and Olson, EN. (2002) Control of cardiac development by an evolutionarily conserved transcriptional network. Dev. Biol. 246: 14-28. Abstract

23. Verzi, MP, Anderson, JP, Dodou, E, Kelly, KK, Greene, SB, North, BJ, Cripps, RM and Black, BL. (2002) N-twist, an evolutionarily conserved bHLH protein expressed in the developing CNS, functions as a transcriptional inhibitor. Dev. Biol. 249: 174-190. Abstract

24. Lovato, TL, Nguyen, TP, Molina MR and Cripps, RM. (2002) The Hox gene abdominal-A specifies heart cell fate in the Drosophila dorsal vessel. Development 129: 5019-5027. PDF

25. Herranz, R, Diaz-Castillo, C, Nguyen, TP, Lovato, TL, Cripps, RM and Marco, R. (2004) Characterization of the whole Troponin C gene repertoire in Drosophila melanogaster. Gene Exp. Patt. 4: 183-190. Abstract

26. Cripps, RM, Lovato, TL and Olson, EN. (2004) Positive autoregulation of the Myocyte enhancer factor-2 myogenic control gene during somatic muscle development in Drosophila. Dev. Biol. 267: 536-547. Abstract

27. Cripps, RM. (2005) The contributions of genetics to the study of insect flight muscle function. In Nature’s versatile engine: insect flight muscle inside and out, JO Vigoreaux, Ed. Landes Bioscience, TX.

28. Ryan, KM, Hoshizaki, DK and Cripps, RM. (2005) Homeotic selector genes control the patterning of seven-up cells in the Drosophila dorsal vessel. Mech. Dev. 122: 1023-1033. Abstract

29. Baker, PW, Kelly Tanaka, KK, Klitgord, N and Cripps, RM. (2005) Adult myogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster can proceed independently of myocyte enhancer factor-2. Genetics 170: 1747-1759. PDF

30. Lovato, TL, Benjamin, AR and Cripps, RM (2005). Transcription of Myocyte enhancer factor-2 in adult Drosophila myoblasts is induced by the steroid hormone ecdysone. Dev. Biol. 288(2): 612-621.

31. Ryan, KM, Hendren, JD, Helander, LA and Cripps, RM. (2007) The NK homeodomain

                  transcription factor Tinman is a direct activator of seven-up in the Drosophila dorsal vessel.

               Dev Biol. 302: 694-702.

32. Hendren, JD, Shah, AP, Arguelles, AM and Cripps, RM. (2007) Cardiac expression of the

                  Drosophila Sulphonylurea receptor gene is regulated by an intronic enhancer dependent upon

                the NK homeodomain transcription factor Tinman. Mech. Dev. 124: 416-426.

33. Black. BL and Cripps, RM. Myocyte enhancer factor-2 transcription factors in heart development

                  and disease. In: Heart Development and Disease, Harvey RP and Rosenthal N, eds.

               Academic Press. In preparation.

34. Kelly Tanaka, KK*, Bryantsev, AL* and Cripps, RM. (2008). Myocyte enhancer factor-2 and Chorion                

                 factor-2 collaborate in activation of the myogenic program in Drosophila. Molecular and Cellular  

            Biology. Vol 28, No. 5: 1616-1629.

35.  Ikle, J, Elwell, J, Bryantsev, AL and Cripps RM. (2008). Cardiac expression of the Drosophila

          Transglutaminase (CG7356) is directly controlled by Myocyte enhancer factor-2. Developmental

          Dynamics. In press.

36. Bryantsev, AL and Cripps, RM. Towards a systems view of cardiogenesis in Drosophila. Biochim.

                 Biophys. Acta: Gene Reg. Mech. 1789: 343-353.

37. LaBeau, EM, Trujillo, DL and Cripps RM. (2009) Biothorax Complex genes control alary muscle patterning

                 along the cardiac tube of Drosophila. Mech Dev 126: 478-486.

38. Jaramillo, MS, Lovato, CV, Baca, EM and Cripps RM. (2009). Crossveinless and the TGF-β pathway regulate

                 fiber number in the Drosophila jump muscle. Development 136: 1105-1113. *Cover Image.

39. Lovato TL, Adams MM, Baker PW and Cripps RM. A molecular mechanism of temperature sensitivity for

                 Mutants affecting the Drosophila muscle regulator Myocyte enhancer factor-2. Genetics. In press.

 

Other publications

Mardahl, M, Cripps, RM, Rinehart, RR, Bernstein SI and Harris, GL (1993) Introduction of y+ onto a CyO chromosome. Drosophila Inform. Serv. 72: 141-142.

Harvey, R, Olson, EN, Schulz, RA, Altman, J (editors), Biben, C, Black, BL, Cripps, RM and Firulli, AB (co-editors) (1997) Genetic Control of Heart Development. HFSP, Strasbourg, France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

                 

 

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          

                    Journal of Cell Biology, August 1994

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, November/December 1994

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Pictures

UNM BIOLOGY HOMEPAGE

To Contact Us:

 

Phone: 505-277-5731

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E-mail: rcripps@unm.edu

Developmental Biology, December 1992

Variation in fiber number in the Drosophila jump muscle. Shown is the tergal depressor of the trochanter muscle, stained for ß-integrin (red), F-actin (green) and nuclei (blue). The paper by Jaramillo et al. demonstrates that specification of fiber number in this muscle is directly regulated by the TGF-ß signaling pathway.

Development, April 2009