A Delta-Notch signaling border regulated by Engrailed/Invected repression specifies boundary cells in the Drosophila hindgut.

The Drosophila hindgut develops three morphologically distinct regions along its anteroposterior axis: small intestine, large intestine and rectum. Single-cell rings of 'boundary cells' delimit the large intestine from the small intestine at the anterior, and the rectum at the posterior. The large intestine also forms distinct dorsal and ventral regions; these are separated by two single-cell rows of boundary cells. Boundary cells are distinguished by their elongated morphology, high level of both apical and cytoplasmic Crb protein, and gene expression program. During embryogenesis, the boundary cell rows arise at the juxtaposition of a domain of Engrailed (En)- plus Invected (Inv)-expressing cells with a domain of Delta (Dl)-expressing cells. Analysis of loss-of-function and ectopic expression phenotypes shows that the domain of Dl-expressing cells is defined by En/Inv repression. Further, Notch pathway signaling, specifically the juxtaposition of Dl-expressing and Dl-non-expressing cells, is required to specify the rows of boundary cells. This Notch-induced cell specification is distinguished by the fact that it does not appear to utilize the ligand Serrate and the modulator Fringe.

Tramtrack69 is required for the early repression of tailless expression.

During embryogenesis, the activated Torso receptor tyrosine kinase (TOR RTK) pathway activates tailless (tll) expression by a relief-of-repression mechanism. Various lines of evidence have suggested that multiple factors are required for this repression. We show that Tramtrack69 (TTK69) binds to two sites within tll cis-regulatory DNA, TC2 and TC5, and that TTK69 is phosphorylated by mitogen activated protein kinase. In embryos lacking maternal ttk69 activity, the expression of both endogenous tll and lacZ driven by the tll minimal regulatory region (tll-MRR) are expanded. Further, in wild-type embryos, the tll-MRR mutated in TC5 drives uniform lacZ expression before late stage 4. We conclude that TTK69 is required for early (before the end of stage 4) repression of tll transcription.

The Drm-Bowl-Lin relief-of-repression hierarchy controls fore- and hindgut patterning and morphogenesis.

The elucidation of pathways linking patterning to morphogenesis is a problem of great interest. We show here that, in addition to their roles in patterning and morphogenesis of the hindgut, the Drosophila genes drumstick (drm) and bowl are required in the foregut for spatially localized gene expression and the morphogenetic processes that form the proventriculus. drm and bowl belong to a family of genes encoding C(2)H(2) zinc finger proteins; the other two members of this family are odd-skipped (odd) and sob. In both the fore- and hindgut, drm acts upstream of lines (lin), which encodes a putative transcriptional regulator, and relieves its repressive function. In spite of its phenotypic similarities with drm, bowl was found in both foregut and hindgut to act downstream, rather than upstream, of lin. These results support a hierarchy in which Drm relieves the repressive effect of Lin on Bowl, and Bowl then acts to promote spatially localized expression of genes (particularly the JAK/STAT pathway ligand encoded by upd) that control fore- and hindgut morphogenesis. Since the odd-family and lin are conserved in mosquito, mouse, and humans, we propose that the odd-family genes and lin may also interact to control patterning and morphogenesis in other insects and in vertebrates.

The Drumstick/Lines/Bowl regulatory pathway links antagonistic Hedgehog and Wingless signaling inputs to epidermal cell differentiation.

Hedgehog and Wingless signaling in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis represents one paradigm for organizer function. In patterning this epidermis, Hedgehog and Wingless act asymmetrically, and consequently otherwise equivalent cells on either side of the organizer follow distinct developmental fates. To better understand the downstream mechanisms involved, we have investigated mutations that disrupt dorsal epidermal pattern. We have previously demonstrated that the gene lines contributes to this process. Here we show that the Lines protein interacts functionally with the zinc-finger proteins Drumstick (Drm) and Bowl. Competitive protein-protein interactions between Lines and Bowl and between Drm and Lines regulate the steady-state accumulation of Bowl, the downstream effector of this pathway. Lines binds directly to Bowl and decreases Bowl abundance. Conversely, Drm allows Bowl accumulation in drm-expressing cells by inhibiting Lines. This is accomplished both by outcompeting Bowl in binding to Lines and by redistributing Lines to the cytoplasm, thereby segregating Lines away from nuclearly localized Bowl. Hedgehog and Wingless affect these functional interactions by regulating drm expression. Hedgehog promotes Bowl protein accumulation by promoting drm expression, while Wingless inhibits Bowl accumulation by repressing drm expression anterior to the source of Hedgehog production. Thus, Drm, Lines, and Bowl are components of a molecular regulatory pathway that links antagonistic and asymmetric Hedgehog and Wingless signaling inputs to epidermal cell differentiation. Finally, we show that Drm and Lines also regulate Bowl accumulation and consequent patterning in the epithelia of the foregut, hindgut, and imaginal discs. Thus, in all these developmental contexts, including the embryonic epidermis, the novel molecular regulatory pathway defined here is deployed in order to elaborate pattern across a field of cells.

It takes guts: the Drosophila hindgut as a model system for organogenesis.

The Drosophila hindgut is fruitful territory for investigation of events common to many types of organogenesis. The development of the Drosophila hindgut provides, in microcosm, a genetic model system for studying processes such as establishment (patterning) of an epithelial primordium, its internalization by gastrulation, development of left--right asymmetric looping, patterning in both the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes, innervation, investment of an epithelium with mesoderm, reciprocal epitheliomesenchymal interactions, cell shape change, and cell rearrangement. We review the genetic control of these processes during development of the Drosophila hindgut, and compare these to related processes in other bilaterians, particularly vertebrates. We propose that caudal/Cdx, brachyenteron/Brachyury, fork head/HNF-3, and wingless/Wnt constitute a conserved "cassette" of genes expressed in the blastopore and later in the gut, involved in posterior patterning, cell rearrangement, and gut maintenance. Elongation of the internalized Drosophila hindgut primordium is similar to elongation of the archenteron and also of the entire embryonic axis (both during and after gastrulation), as well as of various tubules (e.g., nephric ducts, Malpighian tubules), as it is driven by cell rearrangement. The genes drumstick, bowl, and lines (which encode putative transcriptional regulators) are required for this cell rearrangement, as well as for spatially localized gene expression required to establish the three morphologically distinct subregions of the hindgut. Expression of signaling molecules regulated by drumstick, bowl, and lines, in particular of the JAK/STAT activator Unpaired at the hindgut anterior, may play a role in controlling hindgut cell rearrangement. Other cell signaling molecules expressed in the hindgut epithelium are required to establish its normal size (Dpp and Hh), and to establish and maintain the hindgut visceral mesoderm (Wg and Hh). Both maternal gene activity and zygotic gene activity are required for asymmetric left--right looping of the hindgut. Some of the same genes (caudal and brachyenteron) required for embryonic hindgut development also act during pupation to construct a new hindgut from imaginal cells. Application of the plethora of genetic techniques available in Drosophila, including forward genetic screens, should identify additional genes controlling hindgut development and thus shed light on a variety of common morphogenetic processes.

Genes controlling posterior gut development in theDrosophila embryo.

Our present detailed understanding of the genetic mechanisms controlling segmentation has been made possible, in large part, by comprehensive screens of cuticular morphology that identified genes involved in epidermal patterning. To systematically identify genes involved in internal morphogenesis, specifically development of the gut, we have screened mutant embryos produced by a collection of 53 embryonic lethal mutations affecting embryonic pattern formation or differentiation, and a collection of 161 deficiencies covering, in aggregate, approximately 70% of the genome. Staining with the anti-crumbs antibody was used to characterize the Malpighian tubules and hindgut, as well as other internal organs. The geneshuckebein, tailless andwingless, and two previously undescribed loci at 24C/D and 68D/E, are required to establish the primordia for the posterior midgut and hindgut/Malpighian tubules. A locus in region 30A/C is required for extension of the midgut epithelium to surround the yolk, and region 36E/37F is required for outbudding of the Malpighian tubule primordia. Several deficiencies were identified that uncover loci with specific effects on the morphogenesis (elongation, lumen formation) of the hindgut and Malpighian tubules and on the formation of constrictions in the midgut.

Localized JAK/STAT signaling is required for oriented cell rearrangement in a tubular epithelium.

Rearrangement of cells constrained within an epithelium is a key process that contributes to tubular morphogenesis. We show that activation in a gradient of the highly conserved JAK/STAT pathway is essential for orienting the cell rearrangement that drives elongation of a genetically tractable model. Using loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments, we show that the components of the pathway from ligand to the activated transcriptional regulator STAT are required for cell rearrangement in the Drosophila embryonic hindgut. The difference in effect between localized expression of ligand (Unpaired) and dominant active JAK (Hopscotch) demonstrates that the ligand plays a cell non-autonomous role in hindgut cell rearrangement. Taken together with the appearance of STAT92E in a gradient in the hindgut epithelium, these results support a model in which an anteroposterior gradient of ligand results in a gradient of activated STAT. These results provide the first example in which JAK/STAT signaling plays a required role in orienting cell rearrangement that elongates an epithelium.

Drumstick is a zinc finger protein that antagonizes Lines to control patterning and morphogenesis of the Drosophila hindgut.

Elongation of the Drosophila embryonic hindgut epithelium occurs by a process of oriented cell rearrangement requiring the genes drumstick (drm) and lines (lin). The elongating hindgut becomes subdivided into domains -- small intestine, large intestine and rectum -- each characterized by a specific pattern of gene expression dependent upon normal drm and lin function. We show that drm encodes an 81 amino acid (10 kDa) zinc finger protein that is a member of the Odd-skipped family. drm expression is localized to the developing midgut-hindgut junction and is required to establish the small intestine, while lin is broadly expressed throughout the gut primordium and represses small intestine fate. lin is epistatic to drm, suggesting a model in which localized expression of drm blocks lin activity, thereby allowing small intestine fate to be established. Further supporting this model, ectopic expression of Drm throughout the hindgut produces a lin phenotype. Biochemical and genetic data indicate that the first conserved zinc finger of Drm is essential for its function. We have thus defined a pathway in which a spatially localized zinc finger protein antagonizes a globally expressed protein, thereby leading to specification of a domain (the small intestine) necessary for oriented cell rearrangement.

The odd-skipped family of zinc finger genes promotes Drosophila leg segmentation.

Notch signaling controls formation of joints at leg segment borders and growth of the developing Drosophila leg. Here, we identify the odd-skipped gene family as a key group of genes that function downstream of the Notch receptor to promote morphological changes associated with joint formation during leg development. odd, sob, drm, and bowl are expressed in a segmental pattern in the developing leg, and their expression is regulated by Notch signaling. Ectopic expression of odd, sob, or drm can induce invaginations in the leg disc epithelium and morphological changes in the adult leg that are characteristic of endogenous invaginating joint cells. These effects are not due to an alteration in the expression of other genes of the developing joint. While odd or drm mutant clones do not affect leg segmentation, and thus appear to act redundantly, bowl mutant clones do perturb leg development. Specifically, bowl mutant clones result in a failure of joint formation from the distal tibia to tarsal segment 5, while more proximal clones cause melanotic protrusions from the leg cuticle. Together, these results indicate that the odd-skipped family of genes mediates Notch function during leg development by promoting a specific aspect of joint formation, an epithelial invagination. As the odd-skipped family genes are involved in regulating cellular morphogenesis during both embryonic segmentation and hindgut development, we suggest that they may be required in multiple developmental contexts to induce epithelial cellular changes.

Drosophila Rheb GTPase is required for cell cycle progression and cell growth.

Precise body and organ sizes in the adult animal are ensured by a range of signaling pathways. In a screen to identify genes affecting hindgut morphogenesis in Drosophila, we identified a P-element insertion in dRheb, a novel, highly conserved member of the Ras superfamily of G-proteins. Overexpression of dRheb in the developing fly (using the GAL4:UAS system) causes dramatic overgrowth of multiple tissues: in the wing, this is due to an increase in cell size; in cultured cells, dRheb overexpression results in accumulation of cells in S phase and an increase in cell size. Using a loss-of-function mutation we show that dRheb is required in the whole organism for viability (growth) and for the growth of individual cells. Inhibition of dRheb activity in cultured cells results in their arrest in G1 and a reduction in size. These data demonstrate that dRheb is required for both cell growth (increase in mass) and cell cycle progression; one explanation for this dual role would be that dRheb promotes cell cycle progression by affecting cell growth. Consistent with this interpretation, we find that flies with reduced dRheb activity are hypersensitive to rapamycin, an inhibitor of the growth regulator TOR. In cultured cells, the effect of overexpressing dRheb was blocked by the addition of rapamycin. These results imply that dRheb is involved in TOR signaling.