Differing strategies for the establishment and maintenance of teashirt and homothorax repression in the Drosophila wing.
Secreted signaling molecules such as Wingless (Wg) and Decapentaplegic (Dpp) organize positional information along the proximodistal (PD) axis of the Drosophila wing imaginal disc. Responding cells activate different downstream targets depending on the combination and level of these signals and other factors present at the time of signal transduction. Two such factors, teashirt (tsh) and homothorax (hth), are initially co-expressed throughout the entire wing disc, but are later repressed in distal cells, permitting the subsequent elaboration of distal fates. Control of tsh and hth repression is, therefore, crucial for wing development, and plays a role in shaping and sizing the adult appendage. Although both Wg and Dpp participate in this control, their specific contributions remain unclear. In this report, we analyze tsh and hthregulation in the wing disc, and show that Wg and Dpp act independently as the primary signals for the repression of tsh and hth, respectively. In cells that receive low levels of Dpp, hth repression also requires Vestigial (Vg). Furthermore, although Dpp is required continuously for hth repression throughout development, Wg is only required for the initiation of tsh repression. Instead, the maintenance of tsh repression requires Polycomb group (PcG) mediated gene silencing, which is dispensable for hth repression. Thus, despite their overall similar expression patterns, tsh and hth repression in the wing disc is controlled by two very different mechanisms.
Zirin
Jonathan D
JD
Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, HHSC 1104, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Mann
Richard S
RS
D000818:Animals; D015536:Down-Regulation; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051155:Wnt1 Protein
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C066770:Pc protein, Drosophila; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C064196:dpp protein, Drosophila; C108704:hth protein, Drosophila; C095064:vg protein, Drosophila; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila; C066830:tsh protein, Drosophila; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1