Interactions between enhancer of rudimentary and Notch and deltex reveal a regulatory function of enhancer of rudimentary in the Notch signaling pathway in Drosophila melanogaster.

Enhancer of rudimentary, e(r), encodes a small nuclear protein, ER, that has been implicated in the regulation of pyrimidine metabolism, DNA replication, and cell proliferation. In Drosophila melanogaster, a new recessive Notch allele, N (nd-p) , was isolated as a lethal in combination with an e(r) allele, e(r) (p2) . Both mutants are viable as single mutants. N (nd-p) is caused by a P-element insertion in the 5' UTR, 378-bp upstream of the start of translation. Together the molecular and genetic data argue that N (nd-p) is a hypomorphic allele of N. The three viable notchoid alleles, N (nd-p) , N (nd-1) , and N (nd-3) , are lethal in combination with e(r) (-) alleles. Our present hypothesis is that e(r) is a positive regulator of the Notch signaling pathway and that the lethality of the N e(r) double mutants is caused by a reduction in the expression of the pathway. This is supported by the rescue of the lethality by a mutation in Hairless, a negative regulator of N, and by the synthetic lethality of dx e(r) double mutants. Further support for the hypothesis is a reduction in E(spl) expression in an e(r) (-) mutant. Immunostaining localizes ER to the nucleus, suggesting a nuclear function for ER. A role in the Notch signaling pathway, suggests that e(r) may be expressed in the nervous system. This turns out to be the case, as immunostaining of ER shows that ER is localized to the developing CNS.