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Epithelial planar polarity in the developing Drosophila eye
1Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York 10032, USA.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|August 1, 1995
Summary
Planar polarity in insect epithelia aligns cells with positional information gradients. In Drosophila eyes, reversing the morphogenetic wave direction inverts this planar polarity, suggesting the wave
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cell biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Epithelial planar polarity is crucial for tissue development.
- Previous studies suggested positional information gradients dictate cell orientation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of morphogenetic waves in establishing planar polarity in the Drosophila eye.
- To determine if the direction of the morphogenetic wave influences planar polarity orientation.
Main Methods:
- Experiments involving the manipulation of morphogenetic wave direction in the Drosophila eye.
- Analysis of planar cell polarity in the retinal epithelium.
Main Results:
- Reversing the direction of the morphogenetic wave led to an inversion of planar polarity in the Drosophila eye.
- This inversion occurred in the presumptive retinal epithelium.
Conclusions:
- The movement of the morphogenetic wave appears to be a causal factor in establishing epithelial planar polarity.
- Findings challenge previous models solely based on static positional information gradients.