TY - JOUR

T1 - Developmental competence and the induction of ectopic proboscises in Drosophila melanogaster

AU - Percival-Smith, Anthony

AU - Sivanantharajah, Lovesha

AU - Pelling, Jacob J H

AU - Teft, Wendy A

PY - 2013/11

Y1 - 2013/11

N2 - Developmental competence is the response of a cell(s) to information. Determination of adult labial identity in Drosophila requires Proboscipedia (PB) and Sex combs reduced (SCR); however, co-ectopic expression of PB and SCR is not sufficient for induction of ectopic adult labial identity, because the developmental information supplied by PB and SCR is suppressed. The evolutionarily conserved LASCY, DYTQL, NANGE motifs, and the C-terminal domain of SCR are sequence elements that mediate some, or all, of the suppression of ectopic proboscis determination. Therefore, the developmentally competent primordial proboscis cells provide an environment devoid of suppression, allowing PB and SCR to determine proboscis identity. SCR derivatives lacking suppression sequences weakly induce ectopic proboscis transformations independently of PB, suggesting that SCR may be the activity required for induction of adult labial identity, as is the case for larval labial identity. A possible explanation for PB independence of SCR in determination of adult and embryonic labial identity is PB operates as a competence factor that switches SCR from determining T1 identity to labial identity during metamorphosis. Lastly, labial determination is not conserved between SCR and murine HOXA5, suggesting that SCR has acquired this activity during evolution.

AB - Developmental competence is the response of a cell(s) to information. Determination of adult labial identity in Drosophila requires Proboscipedia (PB) and Sex combs reduced (SCR); however, co-ectopic expression of PB and SCR is not sufficient for induction of ectopic adult labial identity, because the developmental information supplied by PB and SCR is suppressed. The evolutionarily conserved LASCY, DYTQL, NANGE motifs, and the C-terminal domain of SCR are sequence elements that mediate some, or all, of the suppression of ectopic proboscis determination. Therefore, the developmentally competent primordial proboscis cells provide an environment devoid of suppression, allowing PB and SCR to determine proboscis identity. SCR derivatives lacking suppression sequences weakly induce ectopic proboscis transformations independently of PB, suggesting that SCR may be the activity required for induction of adult labial identity, as is the case for larval labial identity. A possible explanation for PB independence of SCR in determination of adult and embryonic labial identity is PB operates as a competence factor that switches SCR from determining T1 identity to labial identity during metamorphosis. Lastly, labial determination is not conserved between SCR and murine HOXA5, suggesting that SCR has acquired this activity during evolution.

KW - Amino Acid Motifs

KW - Animals

KW - Arthropod Antennae/growth & development

KW - Drosophila Proteins/chemistry

KW - Drosophila melanogaster/growth & development

KW - Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism

KW - Salivary Glands/growth & development

KW - Tarsus, Animal/growth & development

KW - Transcription Factors/chemistry

U2 - 10.1007/s00427-013-0454-8

DO - 10.1007/s00427-013-0454-8

M3 - Article

C2 - 24121940

VL - 223

SP - 375

EP - 387

JO - Development genes and evolution

JF - Development genes and evolution

SN - 0949-944X

IS - 6

ER -