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

First published online 21 September 2005
doi: 10.1242/dev.02040

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: dev.02040v1 132/20/4587    most recent 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 Yoshida, S. Articles by Tabata, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yoshida, S. Articles by Tabata, T. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

DPP signaling controls development of the lamina glia required for retinal axon targeting in the visual system of Drosophila

¹ Laboratory of Pattern Formation, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
² Laboratory of Structural Information, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
³ Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/ULP, BP 10142, Illkirch, C.U. de Strasbourg 67404, France
⁴ Graduate Program in Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ttabata{at}iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp)

Accepted 12 August 2005

The Drosophila visual system consists of the compound eyes and the optic ganglia in the brain. Among the eight photoreceptor (R) neurons, axons from the R1-R6 neurons stop between two layers of glial cells in the lamina, the most superficial ganglion in the optic lobe. Although it has been suggested that the lamina glia serve as intermediate targets of R axons, little is known about the mechanisms by which these cells develop. We show that DPP signaling plays a key role in this process. dpp is expressed at the margin of the lamina target region, where glial precursors reside. The generation of clones mutant for Medea, the DPP signal transducer, or inhibition of DPP signaling in this region resulted in defects in R neuron projection patterns and in the lamina morphology, which was caused by defects in the differentiation of the lamina glial cells. glial cells missing/glial cells deficient (gcm; also known as glide) is expressed shortly after glia precursors start to differentiate and migrate. Its expression depends on DPP; gcm is reduced or absent in dpp mutants or Medea clones, and ectopic activation of DPP signaling induces ectopic expression of gcm and REPO. In addition, R axon projections and lamina glia development were impaired by the expression of a dominant-negative form of gcm, suggesting that gcm indeed controls the differentiation of lamina glial cells. These results suggest that DPP signaling mediates the maturation of the lamina glia required for the correct R axon projection pattern by controlling the expression of gcm.

Key words: dpp, Visual system, Glia, Drosophila

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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Zhang, D. Chen, and Z. Wang Analyses of mental dysfunction-related ACSl4 in Drosophila reveal its requirement for Dpp/BMP production and visual wiring in the brain Hum. Mol. Genet., October 15, 2009; 18(20): 3894 - 3905. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Yasugi, D. Umetsu, S. Murakami, M. Sato, and T. Tabata Drosophila optic lobe neuroblasts triggered by a wave of proneural gene expression that is negatively regulated by JAK/STAT Development, April 15, 2008; 135(8): 1471 - 1480. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. C. Zhu, J. Q. Boone, P. A. Jensen, S. Hanna, L. Podemski, J. Locke, C. Q. Doe, and M. B. O'Connor Drosophila Activin- and the Activin-like product Dawdle function redundantly to regulate proliferation in the larval brain Development, February 1, 2008; 135(3): 513 - 521. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. B. Cordero, D. E. Larson, C. R. Craig, R. Hays, and R. Cagan Dynamic Decapentaplegic signaling regulates patterning and adhesion in the Drosophila pupal retina Development, May 15, 2007; 134(10): 1861 - 1871. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Soustelle, F. Trousse, C. Jacques, J. Ceron, P. Cochard, C. Soula, and A. Giangrande Neurogenic role of Gcm transcription factors is conserved in chicken spinal cord Development, February 1, 2007; 134(3): 625 - 634. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. T. Takaesu, C. Hyman-Walsh, Y. Ye, R. G. Wisotzkey, M. J. Stinchfield, M. B. O'Connor, D. Wotton, and S. J. Newfeld dSno Facilitates Baboon Signaling in the Drosophila Brain by Switching the Affinity of Medea Away From Mad and Toward dSmad2 Genetics, November 1, 2006; 174(3): 1299 - 1313. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Umetsu, S. Murakami, M. Sato, and T. Tabata The highly ordered assembly of retinal axons and their synaptic partners is regulated by Hedgehog/Single-minded in the Drosophila visual system Development, March 1, 2006; 133(5): 791 - 800. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]