Biomaterial Database

Three distinct roles for the engrailed gene in Drosophila wing development. 1994

A Hidalgo

Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma-C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain.

BACKGROUND The development of Drosophila includes stages at which the future component parts of the adult seem to be divided into distinct anterior and posterior compartments, with clones of cells restricted by their lineage to only one of the two compartments. The engrailed gene is thought to be a 'selector' gene that controls the expression of other genes to confer a 'posterior identity' on groups of cells that are related to each other by lineage. Consistent with this notion, engrailed encodes a homeo-domain-containing transcription factor that is expressed in all posterior developmental compartments of the fly. In this paper, the processes that are regulated by engrailed during morphogenesis of the fly wing are analyzed. RESULTS The effects of a total lack of engrailed function in the wing have been analyzed for the first time. This has revealed three different requirements for engrailed during wing development. It has a late role in patterning the wing margin, which includes cells within the anterior compartment. In addition, it is involved in the cell-cell interactions that maintain the expression of the decapentaplegic gene along the antero-posterior compartment boundary; decapentaplegic, in turn, controls growth through a mechanism that depends on the activity of the gene hedgehog, and the maintenance of the compartment boundary depends on these cell-cell interactions. Finally, there is a global requirement for engrailed in the control of growth through a hedgehog-independent mechanism. In fact, cell proliferation is induced after removal of the functions provided by both engrailed and a second gene, patched. CONCLUSIONS The multiple roles of engrailed and the temporal specificity for each function of the gene suggest that engrailed does not act simply by assigning an identity to cells, as had been supposed previously, but rather that is has more complex roles. Establishment and maintenance of the antero-posterior compartment boundary does not depend exclusively on the engrailed gene product. In addition, engrailed plays a major role in the control of growth by a pathway independent of putative inducing signals.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007301	Insect Hormones	Hormones secreted by insects. They influence their growth and development. Also synthetic substances that act like insect hormones.	Insect Hormone,Hormone, Insect,Hormones, Insect
D008297	Male		Males
D008565	Membrane Proteins	Proteins which are found in membranes including cellular and intracellular membranes. They consist of two types, peripheral and integral proteins. They include most membrane-associated enzymes, antigenic proteins, transport proteins, and drug, hormone, and lectin receptors.	Cell Membrane Protein,Cell Membrane Proteins,Cell Surface Protein,Cell Surface Proteins,Integral Membrane Proteins,Membrane-Associated Protein,Surface Protein,Surface Proteins,Integral Membrane Protein,Membrane Protein,Membrane-Associated Proteins,Membrane Associated Protein,Membrane Associated Proteins,Membrane Protein, Cell,Membrane Protein, Integral,Membrane Proteins, Integral,Protein, Cell Membrane,Protein, Cell Surface,Protein, Integral Membrane,Protein, Membrane,Protein, Membrane-Associated,Protein, Surface,Proteins, Cell Membrane,Proteins, Cell Surface,Proteins, Integral Membrane,Proteins, Membrane,Proteins, Membrane-Associated,Proteins, Surface,Surface Protein, Cell
D009154	Mutation	Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations.	Mutations
D011506	Proteins	Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.	Gene Products, Protein,Gene Proteins,Protein,Protein Gene Products,Proteins, Gene
D011956	Receptors, Cell Surface	Cell surface proteins that bind signalling molecules external to the cell with high affinity and convert this extracellular event into one or more intracellular signals that alter the behavior of the target cell (From Alberts, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2nd ed, pp693-5). Cell surface receptors, unlike enzymes, do not chemically alter their ligands.	Cell Surface Receptor,Cell Surface Receptors,Hormone Receptors, Cell Surface,Receptors, Endogenous Substances,Cell Surface Hormone Receptors,Endogenous Substances Receptors,Receptor, Cell Surface,Surface Receptor, Cell
D002450	Cell Communication	Any of several ways in which living cells of an organism communicate with one another, whether by direct contact between cells or by means of chemical signals carried by neurotransmitter substances, hormones, and cyclic AMP.	Cell Interaction,Cell-to-Cell Interaction,Cell Communications,Cell Interactions,Cell to Cell Interaction,Cell-to-Cell Interactions,Communication, Cell,Communications, Cell,Interaction, Cell,Interaction, Cell-to-Cell,Interactions, Cell,Interactions, Cell-to-Cell
D002455	Cell Division	The fission of a CELL. It includes CYTOKINESIS, when the CYTOPLASM of a cell is divided, and CELL NUCLEUS DIVISION.	M Phase,Cell Division Phase,Cell Divisions,Division Phase, Cell,Division, Cell,Divisions, Cell,M Phases,Phase, Cell Division,Phase, M,Phases, M
D004330	Drosophila	A genus of small, two-winged flies containing approximately 900 described species. These organisms are the most extensively studied of all genera from the standpoint of genetics and cytology.	Fruit Fly, Drosophila,Drosophila Fruit Flies,Drosophila Fruit Fly,Drosophilas,Flies, Drosophila Fruit,Fly, Drosophila Fruit,Fruit Flies, Drosophila
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia