Invagination centers within the Drosophila stomatogastric nervous system anlage are positioned by Notch-mediated signaling which is spatially controlled through wingless.
The gut-innervating stomatogastric nervous system of Drosophila, unlike the central and the peripheral nervous system, derives from a compact, single layered epithelial anlage. Here we report how this anlage is initially defined during embryogenesis by the expression of proneural genes of the achaete-scute complex in response to the maternal terminal pattern forming system. Within the stomatogastric nervous system anlage, the wingless-dependent intercellular communication system adjusts the cellular range of Notch-dependent lateral inhibition to single-out three achaete-expressing cells. Those cells define distinct invagination centers which orchestrate the behavior of neighboring cells to form epithelial infoldings, each headed by an achaete-expressing tip cell. Our results suggest that the wingless pathway acts not as an instructive signal, but as a permissive factor which coordinates the spatial activity of morphoregulatory signals within the stomatogastric nervous system anlage.
González-Gaitán
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Abteilung Molekulare Entwicklungsbiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen, Germany.
Jäckle
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H
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004627:Embryonic Induction / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017344:Genes, Insect; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009055:Mouth / Q000294:innervation; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013270:Stomach / Q000294:innervation; D051155:Wnt1 Protein
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C497759:N protein, Drosophila; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila