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Drosophila myc regulates cellular growth during development

L A Johnston1, D A Prober, B A Edgar

  • 1Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Basic Sciences, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA.

Cell
|September 28, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Drosophila Myc (dMyc) regulates cell growth and size by influencing cell mass accumulation and G1/S progression. Wingless signaling modulates dMyc to link developmental patterns with cell division and metabolism.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The Myc proto-oncogene family regulates cell division, but its precise mechanisms remain unclear.
  • Understanding Myc's role is crucial for comprehending cell growth control and developmental processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental functions of Drosophila Myc (dMyc) in cell division and growth.
  • To elucidate how dMyc influences cell size, cell mass accumulation, and cell cycle progression.

Main Methods:

  • Mosaic analysis in the Drosophila wing to study loss-of-function and overproduction of dMyc.
  • Examination of cell cycle progression, specifically G1/S and G2/M phases.
  • Analysis of the interplay between Wingless signaling and dMyc expression.

Main Results:

  • Loss of dMyc significantly retards cellular growth and reduces cell size.
  • dMyc overproduction enhances growth rates and increases cell size.
  • dMyc promotes G1/S progression, but G2/M progression is independently regulated by Cdc25/String.
  • Wingless signaling patterns wing growth by modulating dMyc expression.

Conclusions:

  • dMyc is a key regulator of cellular growth and size in Drosophila development.
  • dMyc integrates developmental patterning signals with cellular growth and metabolism.
  • Cell division progression is controlled by distinct pathways, with dMyc primarily influencing early cell cycle stages.

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