DYX1C1 is required for axonemal dynein assembly and ciliary motility

Dyx1c1 has been associated with dyslexia and neuronal migration in the developing neocortex. Unexpectedly, we found that deletion of Dyx1c1 exons 2–4 in mice caused a phenotype resembling primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by chronic airway disease, laterality defects, and male infertility. This phenotype was confirmed independently in mice with a Dyx1c1c.T2A start codon mutation recovered from an ENU mutagenesis screen. Morpholinos targeting dyx1c1 in zebrafish also created laterality and ciliary motility defects. In humans, recessive loss-of-function DYX1C1 mutations were identified in twelve PCD individuals. Ultrastructural and immunofluorescence analyses of DYX1C1-mutant motile cilia in mice and humans revealed disruptions of outer and inner dynein arms (ODA/IDA). DYX1C1 localizes to the cytoplasm of respiratory epithelial cells, its interactome is enriched for molecular chaperones, and it interacts with the cytoplasmic ODA/IDA assembly factor DNAAF2/KTU. Thus, we propose that DYX1C1 is a newly identified dynein axonemal assembly factor (DNAAF4)