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Updated: May 7, 2026
Imaging and Analysis of Tissue Orientation and Growth Dynamics in the Developing Drosophila Epithelia During Pupal Stages
Published on: June 2, 2020
Transcriptional regulation of tissue organization and cell morphogenesis: the fly retina as a case study
1MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Abstract:
Understanding how a functional organ can be produced from a small group of cells remains an outstanding question in cell and developmental biology. The developing compound eye of Drosophila has long been a model of choice for addressing this question by dissecting the cellular, genetic and molecular pathways that govern cell specification, differentiation, and multicellular patterning during organogenesis. In this review, the author focussed on cell and tissue morphogenesis during fly retinal development, including the regulated changes in cell shape and cell packing that ultimately determine the shape and architecture of the compound eye. In particular, the author reviewed recent studies that highlight the prominent roles of transcriptional and hormonal controls that orchestrate the cell shape changes, cell-cell junction remodeling and polarized membrane growth that underlie photoreceptor morphogenesis and retinal patterning.
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01:10Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
02:32Position-effect Variegation