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EGF receptor and Notch signaling act upstream of Eyeless/Pax6 to control eye specification

J P Kumar1, K Moses

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1648 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Cell
|March 21, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Master control genes for Drosophila eye development are not coexpressed early on. Instead, EGF Receptor and Notch signaling pathways initiate eye specification later, during the second larval stage.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular biology

Background:

  • The Drosophila compound eye develops through the action of seven nuclear factors, including Eyeless/Pax6, termed master control proteins.
  • These factors are known to induce eye development when ectopically expressed and cause eye loss when mutated.
  • Previous understanding suggested these genes were coexpressed in the embryonic presumptive eye.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the precise timing and cellular coexpression of eye specification genes in Drosophila.
  • To identify upstream regulators of the master control genes involved in eye development.
  • To determine when eye specification truly occurs during Drosophila development.

Main Methods:

  • Genetic analysis of gene expression patterns.
  • Investigating the roles of EGF Receptor and Notch signaling pathways.
  • Loss-of-function and ectopic expression studies of key developmental genes.

Main Results:

  • Several key eye specification genes are not coexpressed in the same embryonic cells or the presumptive eye.
  • Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) Receptor and Notch signaling pathways function upstream of eye specification genes.
  • Eye specification is demonstrated to occur in the second larval stage, not during embryonic development.

Conclusions:

  • Eye specification in Drosophila is a later process than previously believed.
  • EGF Receptor and Notch signaling pathways play crucial homeotic roles in initiating eye development.
  • The spatial and temporal expression patterns of eye specification genes are more complex than the master control model initially suggested.

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