Loading…
Graded maternal short gastrulation protein contributes to embryonic dorsal–ventral patterning by delayed induction
Establishment of the dorsal–ventral (DV) axis of the Drosophila embryo depends on ventral activation of the maternal Toll pathway, which creates a gradient of the NFkB/c-rel-related transcription factor dorsal. Signaling through the maternal BMP pathway also alters the dorsal gradient, probably by r...
Saved in:
Published in: | Developmental biology 2006-08, Vol.296 (1), p.203-218 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Establishment of the dorsal–ventral (DV) axis of the
Drosophila embryo depends on ventral activation of the maternal Toll pathway, which creates a gradient of the NFkB/c-rel-related transcription factor dorsal. Signaling through the maternal BMP pathway also alters the dorsal gradient, probably by regulating degradation of the IkB homologue Cactus. The BMP4 homologue
decapentaplegic (
dpp) and the BMP antagonist
short gastrulation (
sog) are expressed by follicle cells during mid-oogenesis, but it is unknown how they affect embryonic patterning following fertilization. Here, we provide evidence that maternal Sog and Dpp proteins are secreted into the perivitelline space where they remain until early embryogenesis to modulate Cactus degradation, enabling their dual function in patterning the eggshell and embryo. We find that metalloproteases encoded by
tolloid (
tld) and
tolkin (
tok), which cleave Sog, are expressed by follicle cells and are required to generate DV asymmetry in the Dpp signal. Expression of
tld and
tok is ventrally restricted by the TGF-α ligand encoded by
gurken, suggesting that signaling via the EGF receptor pathway may regulate embryonic patterning through two independent mechanisms: by restricting the expression of
pipe and thereby activation of Toll signaling and by spatially regulating BMP activity
. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0012-1606 1095-564X |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.ydbio.2006.04.453 |