Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hays, R; Gibori, GB; Bejsovec, A
Published in: Development (Cambridge, England)
October 1997

wingless (wg) and its vertebrate homologues, the Wnt genes, play critical roles in the generation of embryonic pattern. In the developing Drosophila epidermis, wg is expressed in a single row of cells in each segment, but it influences cell identities in all rows of epidermal cells in the 10- to 12-cell-wide segment. Wg signaling promotes specification of two distinct aspects of the wild-type intrasegmental pattern: the diversity of denticle types present in the anterior denticle belt and the smooth or naked cuticle constituting the posterior surface of the segment. We have manipulated the expression of wild-type and mutant wg transgenes to explore the mechanism by which a single secreted signaling molecule can promote these distinctly different cell fates. We present evidence consistent with the idea that naked cuticle cell fate is specified by a cellular pathway distinct from the denticle diversity-generating pathway. Since these pathways are differentially activated by mutant Wg ligands, we propose that at least two discrete classes of receptor for Wg may exist, each transducing a different cellular response. We also find that broad Wg protein distribution across many cell diameters is required for the generation of denticle diversity, suggesting that intercellular transport of the Wg protein is an essential feature of pattern formation within the epidermal epithelium. Finally, we demonstrate that an 85 amino acid region not conserved in vertebrate Wnts is dispensable for Wg function and we discuss structural features of the Wingless protein required for its distinct biological activities.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Development (Cambridge, England)

DOI

EISSN

1477-9129

ISSN

0950-1991

Publication Date

October 1997

Volume

124

Issue

19

Start / End Page

3727 / 3736

Related Subject Headings

  • Wnt1 Protein
  • Vertebrates
  • Transcription Factors
  • Signal Transduction
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Epitopes
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Hays, R., Gibori, G. B., & Bejsovec, A. (1997). Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms. Development (Cambridge, England), 124(19), 3727–3736. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.124.19.3727
Hays, R., G. B. Gibori, and A. Bejsovec. “Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms.Development (Cambridge, England) 124, no. 19 (October 1997): 3727–36. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.124.19.3727.
Hays R, Gibori GB, Bejsovec A. Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms. Development (Cambridge, England). 1997 Oct;124(19):3727–36.
Hays, R., et al. “Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms.Development (Cambridge, England), vol. 124, no. 19, Oct. 1997, pp. 3727–36. Epmc, doi:10.1242/dev.124.19.3727.
Hays R, Gibori GB, Bejsovec A. Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms. Development (Cambridge, England). 1997 Oct;124(19):3727–3736.
Journal cover image

Published In

Development (Cambridge, England)

DOI

EISSN

1477-9129

ISSN

0950-1991

Publication Date

October 1997

Volume

124

Issue

19

Start / End Page

3727 / 3736

Related Subject Headings

  • Wnt1 Protein
  • Vertebrates
  • Transcription Factors
  • Signal Transduction
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Epitopes