title: Imaginal discs can be recovered from cultured embryos mutant for the segment-polarity genes engrailed, naked and patched but not from wingless.
abstract: Drosophila embryos homozygous for strong mutations in each of the segment-polarity genes wingless (wg), engrailed (en), naked (nkd) and patched (ptc) form a larval cuticle in which there is a deletion in every segment. The mutant embryos normally fail to hatch but by in vivo culture we were able to show which could produce adult structures. Cultured wg⁻ embryos did not produce any adult structures. Cultured en⁻ embryos produced eye-antennal derivatives and rarely produced partial thoracic structures. nkd⁻ and ptc⁻ embryos produced eye-antennal and thoracic derivatives. The nkd⁻ and ptc⁻ thoracic imaginal discs developed with an abnormal morphology and abnormal pattern of en-expression. Our findings are consistent with the idea that the thoracic imaginal discs derive from two adjacent groups of cells that express wg and en respectively in the embryo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Simcox
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hersperger
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gribbin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shearn
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Whittle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060227:Imaginal Discs / Q000196:embryology*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051155:Wnt1 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C063459:En protein, Drosophila; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C070844:ptc protein, Drosophila; C074622:wg protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila, wingless, engrailed, naked, patched, imaginal discs