Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer
09:08

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer

Published on: January 12, 2020

Notch signaling and developmental cell-cycle arrest in Drosophila polar follicle cells

Li-Fang Shyu1, Jianjun Sun, Hui-Min Chung

  • 1Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295, USA.

Molecular Biology of the Cell
|October 23, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Drosophila polar cells arrest in G2 phase, serving as a model for cell-cycle regulation. Manipulating String and Notch signaling reveals mechanisms controlling cell division and differentiation during development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Cycle Regulation
  • Drosophila Oogenesis

Background:

  • Cell division regulation is crucial for multicellular organism development.
  • Cell-cycle arrest is often linked to differentiated cell status.
  • Polar cells in Drosophila oogenesis are an early-differentiated cell type arrested in G2 phase.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the developmental regulation of cell-cycle arrest using Drosophila polar cells.
  • Examine the roles of String (a Cdc25 homolog) and Notch signaling in polar cell cycle control.

Main Methods:

  • Misexpression of String in polar cells.
  • Analysis of Notch signaling effects on polar cell differentiation and cell cycle status.
  • Observation of cell recruitment versus proliferation in response to Notch signaling.

Main Results:

  • Misexpression of String induced mitosis in existing polar cells, leading to extra polar cells.
  • Notch signaling normally drives polar cell differentiation.
  • Notch-induced extra polar cells were recruited from neighboring cells and also arrested in G2 phase.

Conclusions:

  • String promotes mitosis in polar cells.
  • Notch signaling appears to down-regulate String in polar cells, inducing G2 cell-cycle arrest.
  • Drosophila polar cells provide a model for studying developmental control of cell-cycle arrest.

More Related Videos

Dissection and Staining of Drosophila Larval Ovaries07:40

Dissection and Staining of Drosophila Larval Ovaries

Published on: May 13, 2011

Cell Aggregation Assays to Evaluate the Binding of the Drosophila Notch with Trans-Ligands and its Inhibition by Cis-Ligands05:48

Cell Aggregation Assays to Evaluate the Binding of the Drosophila Notch with Trans-Ligands and its Inhibition by Cis-Ligands

Published on: January 2, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:12

Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal

Notch signaling was first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, where it is involved in cell lineage differentiation. Notch signaling regulates the maintenance and differentiation of intestinal stem cells or ISCs by controlling the expression of atonal homolog 1 or Atoh1. Atoh1 directs cells to differentiate into secretory cells.
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
The Cell Cycle Control System01:28

The Cell Cycle Control System

The cell cycle regulation directs how a cell proceeds from one phase to the next and begins mitosis. The cell cycle control system includes intracellular regulatory molecules and external triggers. They provide "stop" or "advance" signals and operate at specific cell cycle stages termed checkpoints to ensure that a particular process is completed before the cell advances to the next phase.
Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) are the primary cell cycle regulators and function at the cell...
Negative Regulator Molecules01:23

Negative Regulator Molecules

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
Molecular Factors Affecting Cell Division01:27

Molecular Factors Affecting Cell Division

Several external and internal factors influence the initiation and inhibition of cell division. For instance, the death of nearby cells or the release of human growth hormone (hGH) promotes cell division. In contrast, lack of hGH or crowding of cells can inhibit cell division.
Several proteins function as internal regulators to ensure each cell cycle stage is completed faithfully before proceeding to the next. Regulator molecules may act directly or influence the activity or production of other...