Journal
DEVELOPMENT
Volume 135, Issue 16, Pages 2767-2775Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/dev.017814
Keywords
Drosophila; Hedgehog; Wingless; embryo; patterning
Categories
Funding
- NIGMS NIH HHS [R01 GM059823-08, R01 GM059823-06A1, R01 GM059823-07, R01GM59823, R01 GM059823] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A fundamental concept in development is that secreted molecules such as Wingless (Wg) and Hedgehog (Hh) generate pattern by inducing cell fate. By following markers of cellular identity posterior to the Wg- and Hh-expressing cells in the Drosophila dorsal embryonic epidermis, we provide evidence that neither Wg nor Hh specifies the identity of the cell types they pattern. Rather, they maintain pre-existing cellular identities that are otherwise unstable and progress stepwise towards a default fate. Wg and Hh therefore generate pattern by inhibiting specific switches in cell identity, showing that the specification and the patterning of a given cell are uncoupled. Sequential binary decisions without induction of cell identity give rise to both the groove cells and their posterior neighbors. The combination of independent progression of cell identity and arrest of progression by signals facilitates accurate patterning of an extremely plastic developing epidermis.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available