Canonical wingless signaling regulates cone cell specification in the Drosophila retina.
Correct tissue patterning during development involves multiple morphogenetic events that include specification of different cell fates, cell proliferation, cell death, and coordinated changes in cell shape, position, and adhesion. Here, we use the Drosophila retina to explore the molecular mechanisms that regulate and integrate these various events. In a previous report, we found that wingless (wg) was required to induce a previously unknown surge of cell death ("early death") in the pupal retina. Here, we show that wg is also required to induce the more widely studied mid-pupal cell death ("late death") in a process that involves regulation of DIAP1. Furthermore, our data suggest that wg has a previously unreported role in specifying the glial-like cone cells. This activity requires canonical Wg signaling and is linked with Notch pathway activity. Our work broadens the role of canonical Wg signaling to encompass multiple patterning steps in the emerging Drosophila retina.
Department of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA.
Julia B
JB
Cordero
Ross L
RL
Cagan
D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D016923:Cell Death; D019070:Cell Lineage; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology*; D051157:Frizzled Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008954:Models, Biological; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000196:embryology*; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000166:cytology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051155:Wnt1 Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051157:Frizzled Receptors; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C058784:fz protein, Drosophila; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila