Serpent and a hibris reporter are co-expressed in migrating cells during Drosophila hematopoiesis and Malpighian tubule formation.
Motile mesodermal cells contribute several cell types to developing embryos. In Drosophila, blood cell precursors or prohemocytes, are first detected in the procephalic mesoderm by the expression of the GATA transcription factor Serpent. Once specified, a subset of prohemocytes migrate posteriorly to populate most of the embryo and further differentiate as plasmatocytes. Similarly, Drosophila nephrogenesis involves integration of posterior mesodermal cells into the Malpighian tubule primordia where these cells differentiate as stellate cells. Here we investigated the possibility that the immunoglobulin-domain protein Hibris and the GATA factor Serpent were co-expressed in motile mesodermal cells by using the hibris expression reporter P[w(+)]36.1 and antibody staining. We show that P[w(+)]36.1 reproduces the endogenous expression of hibris in several embryonic tissue types and organs, including mesectoderm, early mesoderm, pharyngeal musculature, hindgut, anal plates, posterior spiracles, and antennomaxillary complex. We find that both migrating prohemocytes and posterior mesodermal cells, before their integration into the Malpighian tubule primordia, simultaneously express the hibris reporter and Serpent. We also show that hibris function is not essential for prohemocyte migration out of the procephalic mesoderm NOR maintenance of Serpent expression in prohemocytes.
Artero
Ruben D
RD
Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Dept of Genetics, University of Valencia, Dr. Moliner 50, ES-46100 Burjasot, Spain. ruben.artero@uv.es
Monferrer
Lidon
L
Garcia-Lopez
Amparo
A
Baylies
Mary K
MK
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D050980:GATA Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D008317:Malpighian Tubules / Q000196:embryology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D038081:Organogenesis
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D050980:GATA Transcription Factors; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C442230:hbs protein, Drosophila; C103965:srp protein, Drosophila