This issue includes three reports of the cloning and characterization of kakapo, a Drosophila gene whose product may keep transmembrane signaling proteins in their place, link the actin cortex to structural microtubules, or both. The three groups discovered Kakapo after looking at an existing paralyzed mutant (Prokop et al., page 1283), screening for mutants with blistered wings (Gregory and Brown, page 1271), or doing an antibody screen against presumptive tendon cells (Strumpf and Volk, page 1259).
The phenotypes that the three groups uncover are equally diverse. The Brown and Volk groups observe that Kakapo localizes to the apical and basal surfaces of specific epidermal cells. These cells differentiate into tendon cells and link the fly embryo's muscles to the external cuticle. The protein is also found along the microtubules that run between these two sites, spanning the cell and presumably providing structural support.
In the mutant, Gregory and...
