A Gain-of-Function Suppressor Screen for Genes Involved in Dorsal–Ventral Boundary Formation in the Drosophila Wing
The Drosophila wing primordium is subdivided into a dorsal (D) and a ventral (V) compartment by the activity of the LIM-homeodomain protein Apterous in D cells. Cell interactions between D and V cells induce the activation of Notch at the DV boundary. Notch is required for the maintenance of the compartment boundary and the growth of the wing primordium. Beadex, a gain-of-function allele of dLMO, results in increased levels of dLMO protein, which interferes with the activity of Apterous and results in defects in DV axis formation. We performed a gain-of-function enhancer-promoter (EP) screen to search for suppressors of Beadex when overexpressed in D cells. We identified 53 lines corresponding to 35 genes. Loci encoding for micro-RNAs and proteins involved in chromatin organization, transcriptional control, and vesicle trafficking were characterized in the context of dLMO activity and DV boundary formation. Our results indicate that a gain-of-function genetic screen in a sensitized background, as opposed to classical loss-of-function-based screenings, is a very efficient way to identify redundant genes involved in a developmental process.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Volume
178Issue number
1Page range
307-323Publication title
GeneticsISSN
0016-6731External DOI
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)Location
United StatesFile version
- Published version
Language
- eng
Item sub-type
Journal ArticleMedia of output
PrintOfficial URL
Affiliated with
- School of Life Sciences Outputs