Subdivision of the Drosophila wing imaginal disc by EGFR-mediated signaling

Growth and patterning of the Drosophila wing imaginal disc depends on its subdivision into dorsoventral (DV) compartments and limb (wing) and body wall (notum) primordia. We present evidence that both the DV and wing-notum subdivisions are specified by activation of the Drosophila Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). We show that EGFR signaling is necessary and sufficient to activate apterous (ap) expression, thereby segregating the wing disc into D (ap-ON) and V (ap-OFF) compartments. Similarly, we demonstrate that EGFR signaling directs the expression of Iroquois Complex (Iro-C) genes in prospective notum cells, rendering them distinct from, and immiscible with, neighboring wing cells. However, EGFR signaling acts only early in development to heritably activate ap, whereas it is required persistently during subsequent development to maintain Iro-C gene expression. Hence, as the disc grows, the DV compartment boundary can shift ventrally, beyond the range of the instructive EGFR signal(s), in contrast to the notum-wing boundary, which continues to be defined by EGFR input.