Yi, Peng, Zhe Han, Xiumin Li, and Eric N. Olson. 2006. “The Mevalonate Pathway Controls Heart Formation in Drosophila by Isoprenylation of G{gamma}1. Science, 2006 Sep 1;313(5791):1301-3. Epub 2006 Jul 20. JPMID: 16857902”. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1127704.
Abstract
The early morphogenetic mechanisms involved in heart formation are evolutionarily conserved. A screen for genes that control Drosophila heart development revealed a cardiac defect in which pericardial and cardial cells dissociate, which causes loss of cardiac function and embryonic lethality. This phenotype resulted from mutations in the genes encoding HMG-CoA reductase, downstream enzymes in the mevalonate pathway, and G protein Gγ1, which is geranylgeranylated, thus representing an end point of isoprenoid biosynthesis. Our findings reveal a cardial cell–autonomous requirement of Gγ1 geranylgeranylation for heart formation and suggest the involvement of the mevalonate pathway in congenital heart disease.