spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif ARCHIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.00475

This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Inbal, A.
Right arrow Articles by Salzberg, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Inbal, A.
Right arrow Articles by Salzberg, A.
Development 130, 2467-2478 (2003)
Copyright © 2003 The Company of Biologists Limited

Multiple roles for u-turn/ventral veinless in the development of Drosophila PNS

Adi Inbal1, Daniel Levanon2 and Adi Salzberg1,*

1 Department of Genetics and the Rappaport Family Institute for Research in the Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel
2 Unit of Electron Microscopy, Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: adis{at}tx.technion.ac.il)

Accepted 28 February 2003

Most of the cells in the embryonic peripheral nervous system (PNS) of Drosophila are born in their final location. One known exception is the group of lateral chordotonal organs (lch5) whose precursors form in a dorsal position, yet the mature organs are located in the lateral PNS cluster. Mutations in the u-turn (ut) locus perturb the localization of lch5 neurons and result in a `dorsal chordotonals' phenotype. We show that ut is allelic to ventral veinless (vvl), also known as drifter. VVL, a POU-domain transcription factor, has been shown to participate in the development of tracheae and CNS in the embryo, and in wing development in the adult; however, its role in PNS development has not been described. Characterization of the `dorsal chordotonals' phenotype of vvl mutant embryos revealed that in the absence of VVL, cell fates within the lch5 lineage are determined properly and the entire organ is misplaced. Based on the positions of lch5 cells relative to each other in mutant embryos, and in normal embryos at different developmental stages, we propose a two-step model for lch5 localization. lch5 organs must first rotate to assume a correct polarity and are then stretched ventrally to their final position. In this process, VVL function is required in the ectoderm and possibly in the lch5 organs too.

VVL is also expressed in developing external sensory organs in the embryo and in the adult. In the embryo, loss of VVL function results in increased apoptosis in specific es organs. Analysis of vvl mutant clones in adults revealed a requirement for VVL in the control of cell number within the bristle lineage.

Key words: vvl, ut, PNS, Chordotonal, POU-domain, Drosophila




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 DevelopmentHome page
S. J. Certel and S. Thor
Specification of Drosophila motoneuron identity by the combinatorial action of POU and LIM-HD factors
Development, November 1, 2004; 131(21): 5429 - 5439.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2003