Modulation of Drosophila retinal epithelial integrity by the adhesion proteins capricious and tartan.
BACKGROUND
The development of the Drosophila eye imaginal disc requires complex epithelial rearrangements. Cells of the morphogenetic furrow are apically constricted and this leads to a physical indentation in the epithelium. Posterior to the furrow, cells start to rearrange into distinct clusters and eventually form a precisely patterned array of ommatidia. These morphogenetic processes include regulated changes of adhesion between cells.


RESULTS
Here, we show that two transmembrane adhesion proteins, Capricious and Tartan, have dynamic and complementary expression patterns in the eye imaginal disc. We also describe novel null mutations in capricious and double null mutations in capricious and tartan. We report that they have redundant functions in regulating the architecture of the morphogenetic furrow and ommatidial spacing.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that Capricious and Tartan contribute to the adhesive properties of the cells in the morphogenetic furrow and that this regulated adhesion participates in the control of spacing ommatidial clusters.
Mao
Yanlan
Y
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Kerr
Martin
M
Freeman
Matthew
M
D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000502:physiology*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C113006:caps protein, Drosophila; C084647:trn protein, Drosophila