Hexagonal packing of Drosophila wing epithelial cells by the planar cell polarity pathway.
The mechanisms that order cellular packing geometry are critical for the functioning of many tissues, but they are poorly understood. Here, we investigate this problem in the developing wing of Drosophila. The surface of the wing is decorated by hexagonally packed hairs that are uniformly oriented by the planar cell polarity pathway. They are constructed by a hexagonal array of wing epithelial cells. Wing epithelial cells are irregularly arranged throughout most of development, but they become hexagonally packed shortly before hair formation. During the process, individual cell boundaries grow and shrink, resulting in local neighbor exchanges, and Cadherin is actively endocytosed and recycled through Rab11 endosomes. Hexagonal packing depends on the activity of the planar cell polarity proteins. We propose that these proteins polarize trafficking of Cadherin-containing exocyst vesicles during junction remodeling. This may be a common mechanism for the action of planar cell polarity proteins in diverse systems.
Classen
Anne-Kathrin
AK
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01309 Dresden, Germany.
Anderson
Kurt I
KI
Marois
Eric
E
Eaton
Suzanne
S
D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D004705:Endocytosis; D011992:Endosomes; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005089:Exocytosis; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D017344:Genes, Insect; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D021381:Protein Transport; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000099193:rab11 GTP-Binding Proteins
D015820:Cadherins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins; D000099193:rab11 GTP-Binding Proteins; C502950:Sec5 protein, Drosophila; C058784:fz protein, Drosophila; C121420:stan protein, Drosophila