Nucleolar stress occurs when ribosome production or function declines. Nucleolar stress in stem cells or progenitor cells often leads to disease states called ribosomopathies. Drosophila offers a robust system to explore how nucleolar stress causes cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, or autophagy depending on the cell type. We provide an overview of nucleolar stress in Drosophila by depleting nucleolar phosphoprotein of 140 kDa (Nopp140), a ribosome biogenesis factor (RBF) in nucleoli and Cajal bodies (CBs). The depletion of Nopp140 in eye imaginal disc cells generates eye deformities reminiscent of craniofacial deformities associated with the Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), a human ribosomopathy. We show the activation of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) in Drosophila larvae homozygous for a Nopp140 gene deletion. JNK is known to induce the expression of the pro-apoptotic Hid protein and autophagy factors Atg1, Atg18.1, and Atg8a; thus, JNK is a central regulator in Drosophila nucleolar stress. Ribosome abundance declines upon Nopp140 loss, but unusual cytoplasmic granules accumulate that resemble Processing (P) bodies based on marker proteins, Decapping Protein 1 (DCP1) and Maternal expression at 31B (Me31B). Wild type brain neuroblasts (NBs) express copious amounts of endogenous coilin, but coilin levels decline upon nucleolar stress in most NB types relative to the Mushroom body (MB) NBs. MB NBs exhibit resilience against nucleolar stress as they maintain normal coilin, Deadpan, and EdU labeling levels.
more »
« less
Drosophila Retinal Patterning
The Drosophila eye is an outstanding model system for exploring fundamental mechanisms of growth and development. The adult eye is composed of a perfect hexagonal lattice of ∼750 unit eyes, or ommatidia, each containing precisely 20 well-characterized cells. The eye develops from the eye/antennal imaginal disc, a flattened epithelial sac. During larval and pupal development, cells in the disc grow and undergo compartmentalisation, cell cycle arrest, differentiation, directed movement, and apoptosis, all utilising gene networks and signalling pathways similar to those in vertebrates. The genetic accessibility of Drosophila,
together with the precision of eye development, makes the fly retina an extremely useful system with which to investigate the roles of genes and signalling pathways in development.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1828327
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10310792
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Encyclopedia of life sciences
- Volume:
- 1
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1476-9506
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Contemporary regenerative therapies have introduced stem-like cells to replace damaged neurons in the visual system by recapitulating critical processes of eye development. The collective migration of neural stem cells is fundamental to retinogenesis and has been exceptionally well-studied using the fruit fly model of Drosophila Melanogaster. However, the migratory behavior of its retinal neuroblasts (RNBs) has been surprisingly understudied, despite being critical to retinal development in this invertebrate model. The current project developed a new microfluidic system to examine the collective migration of RNBs extracted from the developing visual system of Drosophila as a model for the collective motile processes of replacement neural stem cells. The system scales with the microstructure of the Drosophila optic stalk, which is a pre-cursor to the optic nerve, to produce signaling fields spatially comparable to in vivo RNB stimuli. Experiments used the micro-optic stalk system, or μOS, to demonstrate the preferred sizing and directional migration of collective, motile RNB groups in response to changes in exogenous concentrations of fibroblast growth factor (FGF), which is a key factor in development. Our data highlight the importance of cell-to-cell contacts in enabling cell cohesion during collective RNB migration and point to the unexplored synergy of invertebrate cell study and microfluidic platforms to advance regenerative strategies.more » « less
-
Vision is among the oldest and arguably most important sensory modalities for animals to interact with their external environment. Although many different eye types exist within the animal kingdom, mounting evidence indicates that the genetic networks required for visual system formation and function are relatively well conserved between species. This raises the question as to how common developmental programs are modified in functionally different eye types. Here, we approached this issue through EyeVolve, an open-source PYTHON-based model that recapitulates eye development based on developmental principles originally identified in Drosophila melanogaster . Proof-of-principle experiments showed that this program’s animated timeline successfully simulates early eye tissue expansion, neurogenesis, and pigment cell formation, sequentially transitioning from a disorganized pool of progenitor cells to a highly organized lattice of photoreceptor clusters wrapped with support cells. Further, tweaking just five parameters (precursor pool size, founder cell distance and placement from edge, photoreceptor subtype number, and cell death decisions) predicted a multitude of visual system layouts, reminiscent of the varied eye types found in larval and adult arthropods. This suggests that there are universal underlying mechanisms that can explain much of the existing arthropod eye diversity. Thus, EyeVolve sheds light on common principles of eye development and provides a new computational system for generating specific testable predictions about how development gives rise to diverse visual systems from a commonly specified neuroepithelial ground plan.more » « less
-
more » « less
SUMMARY Stemmata, the larval eyes of holometabolous insects are extremely diverse, ranging from full compound eyes, to a few ommatidial units as are typical in compound eyes, to sophisticated and functionally specialized image‐forming camera‐type eyes. Stemmata evolved from a compound eye ommatidial ancestor, an eye type that is morphologically well conserved in regards to cellular composition, and well studied in regards to development. However, despite this evolutionary origin it remains largely unknown how stemmata develop. In addition, it is completely unclear how development is altered to give rise to some of the functionally most complex stemmata, such as those of the sunburst diving beetle,
Thermonectus marmoratus . In this study, we used histological methods to investigate the embryonic development of the functionally complex principal stemmata Eye 1 and Eye 2 of the larval visual system ofT. marmoratus . To gain insights into how cellular components of their sophisticated camera‐type eyes might have evolved from the cellular components of ommatidial ancestors, we contrast our findings against known features of ommatidia development, which are particularly well understood inDrosophila . We find many similarities, such as the early presence of a pseudostratified epithelium, and the order in which specific cell types are recruited. However, inThermonectus each cell type is represented by a large number of cells from early on and major tissue re‐orientation occurs as eye development progresses. This study provides insights into the timing of morphological features and represents the basis for future molecular studies. -
null (Ed.)Abstract Background Phytohormones are small molecules that regulate virtually every aspect of plant growth and development, from basic cellular processes, such as cell expansion and division, to whole plant environmental responses. While the phytohormone levels and distribution thus tell the plant how to adjust itself, the corresponding growth alterations are actuated by cell wall modification/synthesis and internal turgor. Plant cell walls are complex polysaccharide-rich extracellular matrixes that surround all plant cells. Among the cell wall components, cellulose is typically the major polysaccharide, and is the load-bearing structure of the walls. Hence, the cell wall distribution of cellulose, which is synthesized by large Cellulose Synthase protein complexes at the cell surface, directs plant growth. Scope Here, we review the relationships between key phytohormone classes and cellulose deposition in plant systems. We present the core signalling pathways associated with each phytohormone and discuss the current understanding of how these signalling pathways impact cellulose biosynthesis with a particular focus on transcriptional and post-translational regulation. Because cortical microtubules underlying the plasma membrane significantly impact the trajectories of Cellulose Synthase Complexes, we also discuss the current understanding of how phytohormone signalling impacts the cortical microtubule array. Conclusion Given the importance of cellulose deposition and phytohormone signalling in plant growth and development, one would expect that there is substantial cross-talk between these processes; however, mechanisms for many of these relationships remain unclear and should be considered as the target of future studies.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/npg.els.0001511
