title: Apoptosis-mediated cell death within the ovarian polar cell lineage of Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Polar cells have been described as pairs of specific follicular cells present at each pole of Drosophila egg chambers. They are required at different stages of oogenesis for egg chamber formation and establishment of both the anteroposterior and planar polarities of the follicular epithelium. We show that definition of polar cell pairs is a progressive process since early stage egg chambers contain a cluster of several polar cell marker-expressing cells at each pole, while as of stage 5, they contain invariantly two pairs of such cells. Using cell lineage analysis, we demonstrate that these pre-polar cell clusters have a polyclonal origin and derive specifically from the polar cell lineage, rather than from that giving rise to follicular cells. In addition, selection of two polar cells from groups of pre-polar cells occurs via an apoptosis-dependent mechanism and is required for correct patterning of the anterior follicular epithelium of vitellogenic egg chambers.
authors.affiliation: Institut Jacques Monod, UMR 7592-CNRS/Université Pierre et Marie Curie/Université Denis Diderot, Laboratoire de Génétique du Développement et Evolution, 2-4, place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Besse
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pret
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D019070:Cell Lineage; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C085770:fu protein, Drosophila; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases