title: A positional Toll receptor code directs convergent extension in Drosophila.
abstract: Elongation of the head-to-tail body axis by convergent extension is a conserved developmental process throughout metazoans. In Drosophila, patterns of transcription factor expression provide spatial cues that induce systematically oriented cell movements and promote tissue elongation. However, the mechanisms by which patterned transcriptional inputs control cell polarity and behaviour have long been elusive. We demonstrate that three Toll family receptors, Toll-2, Toll-6 and Toll-8, are expressed in overlapping transverse stripes along the anterior-posterior axis and act in combination to direct planar polarity and polarized cell rearrangements during convergent extension. Simultaneous disruption of all three receptors strongly reduces actomyosin-driven junctional remodelling and axis elongation, and an ectopic stripe of Toll receptor expression is sufficient to induce planar polarized actomyosin contractility. These results demonstrate that tissue-level patterns of Toll receptor expression provide spatial signals that link positional information from the anterior-posterior patterning system to the essential cell behaviours that drive convergent extension.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Adam C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Paré
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Athea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vichas
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Fincher
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mirman
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Dene L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Avantika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mainieri
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zallen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D014157:Transcription Factors; C052837:eve protein, Drosophila; C080833:run protein, Drosophila; D024462:Myosin Type II