Specification of leading and trailing cell features during collective migration in the Drosophila trachea

The role of tip and rear cells in collective migration is still a matter of debate and their differences at the cytoskeletal level are poorly understood. Here, we analysed these issues in the Drosophila trachea, an organ that develops from the collective migration of clusters of cells that respond to Branchless (Bnl), a fibroblast growth factor (FGF) homologue expressed in surrounding tissues. We track individual cells in the migratory cluster and characterise their features and unveil two prototypical types of cytoskeletal organisation that account for tip and rear cells respectively. Indeed, once the former are specified, they remain as such throughout migration. Furthermore, we show that FGF signalling in a single tip cell can trigger the migration of the cells in the branch. Finally, we found specific Rac activation at the tip cells and analysed how FGF-independent cell features, such as adhesion and motility, act on coupling the behaviour of trailing and tip cells. Thus, the combined effect of FGF promoting leading cell behaviour and the modulation of cell properties in a cluster can account for the wide range of migratory events driven by FGF.