High impact information on sws

• Transcript analysis of the region that rescues the olfE phenotype has shown one major transcript at 5.4 kb and a minor one at 1.7 kb [1].
• An olfactory gene olfE, which affects response to benzaldehyde in larvae and adults of Drosophila melanogaster, has been mapped between two breakpoints on the X chromosome [1].
• Sequencing of two sws alleles shows amino acid substitutions in these two conserved domains [2].
• Our findings suggest an interaction between the sws protein and beta-integrin in the development and/or functioning of the olfactory system [3].
• This study provides evidence for the roles of different integrin subunits and the sws product in regulating normal olfactory behavior in Drosophila [3].

Biological context of sws

• Only one of the mutants obtained in our screening (olfD) resulted in a insensitivity to several different odorants. olfA, olfE and olfC map close together in a small region of the chromosome between 7C and 7D [4].
• Here, we show that both the fly and mouse SWS proteins can rescue the defects that arise in sws mutant flies, whereas a point mutation in the proposed active site cannot restore SWS function [5].

Anatomical context of sws

• A 14-kb genomic fragment from this region has been used for germ-line transformation of olfE mutant flies, and in one of three transformant lines obtained, rescue of the olfE phenotype is observed by two separate behavioral assays [1].

References