QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Novotny, T. Articles by Urban, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Novotny, T. Articles by Urban, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Hunchback is required for the specification of the early sublineage of neuroblast 7-3 in the Drosophila central nervous system

Institut für Genetik, Universität Mainz, Saarstrasse 21, D-55122 Mainz, Germany

*Author for correspondence (e-mail: jurban{at}mail.uni-mainz.de)

Accepted 16 November 2001

The Drosophila ventral nerve cord (VNC) derives from neuroblasts (NBs), which mostly divide in a stem cell mode and give rise to defined NB lineages characterized by specific sets of sequentially generated neurons and/or glia cells. To understand how different cell types are generated within a NB lineage, we have focused on the NB7-3 lineage as a model system. This NB gives rise to four individually identifiable neurons and we show that these cells are generated from three different ganglion mother cells (GMCs). The finding that the transcription factor Hunchback (Hb) is expressed in the early sublineage of NB7-3, which consists of the early NB and the first GMC (GMC7-3a) and its progeny (EW1 and GW), prompted us to investigate its possible role in NB7-3 lineage development. Our analysis revealed that loss of hb results in a lack of the normally Hb-positive neurons, while the later-born neurons (designated as EW2 and EW3) are still present. However, overexpression of hb in the whole lineage leads to additional cells with the characteristics of GMC7-3a-derived neurons, at the cost of EW2 and EW3. Thus, hb is an important determinant in specifying early sublineage identity in the NB7-3 lineage. Using Even-skipped (Eve) as a marker, we have additionally shown that hb is also needed for the determination and/or differentiation of several other early-born neurons, indicating that this gene is an important player in sequential cell fate specification within the Drosophila CNS.

Key words: Drosophila, NB sublineage genes, hunchback, Central nervous system, Serotonin, Corazonin

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Brody and W. F. Odenwald Cellular diversity in the developing nervous system: a temporal view from Drosophila Development, March 10, 2003; 129(16): 3763 - 3770. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. P. Odden, S. Holbrook, and C. Q. Doe DrosophilaHB9 Is Expressed in a Subset of Motoneurons and Interneurons, Where It Regulates Gene Expression and Axon Pathfinding J. Neurosci., November 1, 2002; 22(21): 9143 - 9149. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]