A gene complex acting downstream of dpp in Drosophila wing morphogenesis

Localized expression of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) homologue decapentaplegic (dpp) is crucial for Drosophila wing development. Here we show that spalt and spalt-related (sal and salr), two closely related genes that encode transcription factors, are expressed in response to dpp in a central territory of the wing imaginal disc, where they are required for the patterning of the wing. They are among the first identified elements that act downstream of dpp in wing development. The phenotypic consequences of misexpression of sal and salr suggest that an important outcome of dpp activity is the subdivision of the wing disc into territories smaller than lineage compartments, through the regulation of transcription-factor-encoding genes such as sal and salr.