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First published online June 28, 2004

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Armadillo: a new character in dorsal closure

Halfway through Drosophila development, at the end of germband retraction, a large elliptical hole remains on the dorsal epidermis of the embryo. Closure of this hole (dorsal closure) requires complex cell-shape changes and cell movements within the epidermis and amnioserosa, and on p. 3273, Morel and Martinez Arias provide some surprising insights into this process. During dorsal closure, the dorsal-most epidermal (DME) cells are polarized and acquire an asymmetric distribution of cell membrane-associated proteins and cytoskeletal components. The researchers show that DME cell polarisation involves `canonical' Wingless (Wg) signalling, and results in the activation of ß-catenin (Armadillo in Drosophila). This is unexpected because DME cell polarization is reminiscent of planar cell polarity (PCP), a pathway associated instead with Armadillo-independent non-canonical Wg signalling. Indeed, Morel and Martinez Arias find that PCP has no major role during dorsal closure, leading them to re-evaluate the notion of the PCP pathway.

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Related articles in Development:

Armadillo/ß-catenin-dependent Wnt signalling is required for the polarisation of epidermal cells during dorsal closure in Drosophila

Véronique Morel and Alfonso Martinez Arias
Development 2004 131: 3273-3283. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?