The pineapple eye gene is required for survival of Drosophila imaginal disc cells.
Each ommatidium of the Drosophila eye is constructed by precisely 19 specified precursor cells, generated in part during a second mitotic wave of cell divisions that overlaps early stages of ommatidial cell specification. Homozygotes for the pineapple eye mutation lack sufficient precursor cells due to apoptosis during the period of fate specification. In addition development is delayed by apoptosis during earlier imaginal disc growth. Null alleles are recessive lethal and allelic to l(2)31Ek; heteroallelic combinations can show developmental delay, abnormal eye development, and reduced fertility. Mosaic clones autonomously show extensive cell death. The pineapple eye gene was identified and predicted to encode a novel 582-amino-acid protein. The protein contains a novel, cysteine-rich domain of 270 amino acids also found in predicted proteins of unknown function from other animals.
Shi
Wei
W
Department of Molecular Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Stampas
Argyrios
A
Zapata
Cynthia
C
Baker
Nicholas E
NE
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017209:Apoptosis; D002470:Cell Survival; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000502:physiology; D005123:Eye / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D005808:Genes, Recessive / Q000502:physiology; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009154:Mutation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D005136:Eye Proteins