apterous, a gene required for imaginal disc development in Drosophila encodes a member of the LIM family of developmental regulatory proteins

The Abruptex domain of Notch regulates negative interactions between Notch, its ligands and Fringe

The Notch signalling pathway regulates cell fate choices during both vertebrate and invertebrate development. In the Drosophila wing disc, the activation of Notch by its ligands Delta and Serrate is required to make the dorsoventral boundary, where several genes, such as wingless and cut, are expressed in a 2- to 4-cell-wide domain. The interactions between Notch and its ligands are modulated by Fringe via a mechanism that may involve post-transcriptional modifications of Notch. The ligands themselves also help to restrict Notch activity to the dorsoventral boundary cells, because they antagonise the activation of the receptor in the cells where their expression is high. This function of the ligands is critical to establish the polarity of signalling, but very little is known about the mechanisms involved in the interactions between Notch and its ligands that result in suppression of Notch activity. The extracellular domain of Notch contains an array of 36 EGF repeats, two of which, repeats 11 and 12, are necessary for direct interactions between Notch with Delta and Serrate. We investigate here the function of a region of the Notch extracellular domain where several missense mutations, called Abruptex, are localised. These Notch alleles are characterised by phenotypes opposite to the loss of Notch function and also by complex complementation patterns. We find that, in Abruptex mutant discs, only the negative effects of the ligands and Fringe are affected, resulting in the failure to restrict the expression of cut and wingless to the dorsoventral boundary. We suggest that Abruptex alleles identify a domain in the Notch protein that mediates the interactions between Notch, its ligands and Fringe that result in suppression of Notch activity.

Notch signaling directly controls cell proliferation in the Drosophila wing disc

Notch signaling is involved in cell differentiation and patterning during morphogenesis. In the Drosophila wing, Notch activity regulates the expression of several genes at the dorsal/ventral boundary, and this is thought to elicit wing-cell proliferation. In this work, we show the effect of clones of cells expressing different forms of several members of the Notch signaling pathway, which result in an alteration of Notch activity. The ectopic expression in clones of activated forms of Notch or of its ligands (Delta or Serrate) in the wing causes outgrowths associated with the appearance of ectopic wing margins. These outgrowths consist of mutant territories and of surrounding wild-type cells. However, the ectopic expression of Delta, at low levels in ventral clones, causes large outgrowths that are associated neither with the generation of wing margin structures nor with the expression of genes characteristic of the dorsal/ventral boundary. These results suggest that Notch activity is directly involved in cell proliferation, independently of its role in the formation of the dorsal/ventral boundary. We propose that the nonautonomous effects (induction of extraproliferation and vein differentiation in the surrounding wild-type cells) result from pattern accommodation to positional values caused by the ectopic expression of Notch.

The LIM domain: regulation by association

The LIM domain is a zinc finger structure that is present in several types of proteins, including homeodomain transcription factors, kinases and proteins that consist of several LIM domains. Proteins containing LIM domains have been discovered to play important roles in a variety of fundamental biological processes including cytoskeleton organization, cell lineage specification and organ development, but also for pathological functions such as oncogenesis, leading to human disease. The LIM domain has been demonstrated to be a protein-protein interaction motif that is critically involved in these processes. The recent isolation and analysis of more LIM domain-containing proteins from several species have confirmed and broadened our knowledge about LIM protein function. Furthermore, the identification and characterization of factors that interact with LIM domains illuminates mechanisms of combinatorial developmental regulation.

Formation and specification of distal leg segments in Drosophila by dual Bar homeobox genes, BarH1 and BarH2

Here, we show that BarH1 and BarH2, a pair of Bar homeobox genes, play essential roles in the formation and specification of the distal leg segments of Drosophila. In early third instar, juxtaposition of Bar-positive and Bar-negative tissues causes central folding that may separate future tarsal segments 2 from 3, while juxtaposition of tissues differentially expressing Bar homeobox genes at later stages gives rise to segmental boundaries of distal tarsi including the tarsus/pretarsus boundary. Tarsus/pretarsus boundary formation requires at least two different Bar functions, early antagonistic interactions with a pretarsus-specific homeobox gene, aristaless, and the subsequent induction of Fas II expression in pretarsus cells abutting tarsal segment 5. Bar homeobox genes are also required for specification of distal tarsi. Bar expression requires Distal-less but not dachshund, while early circular dachshund expression is delimited interiorly by BarH1 and BarH2.

Functions of LIM-homeobox genes

Homeobox genes play fundamental roles in development. They can be subdivided into several subfamilies, one of which is the LIM-homeobox subfamily. The primary structure of LIM-homeobox genes has been remarkably conserved through evolution. Have their functions similarly been conserved? A host of new data has been derived from mutational analysis in diverse organisms, such as nematodes, flies and vertebrates. These studies have revealed a prominent involvement of LIM-homeodomain proteins in tissue patterning and differentiation, and their function in neural patterning is evident in all organisms studied to date. Here, we summarize the recent findings on LIM-homeobox gene function, compare the function of these genes from different organisms and describe specific co-factor requirements.

Isolated cleft palate in mice with a targeted mutation of the LIM homeobox gene lhx8

Formation of the mammalian secondary palate is a highly regulated and complex process whose impairment often results in cleft palate, a common birth defect in both humans and animals. Loss-of-function analysis has linked a growing number of genes to this process. Here we report that Lhx8, a recently identified LIM homeobox gene, is expressed in the mesenchyme of the mouse palatal structures throughout their development. To test the function of Lhx8 in vivo, we generated a mutant mouse with a targeted deletion of the Lhx8 gene. Our analysis of the mutant animals revealed a crucial role for Lhx8 in palatogenesis. In Lhx8 homozygous mutant embryos, the bilateral primordial palatal shelves formed and elevated normally, but they often failed to make contact and to fuse properly, resulting in a cleft secondary palate. Because development of other craniofacial structures appeared normal, the impaired palatal formation in Lhx8-mutant mice was most likely caused by an intrinsic primary defect in the mesenchyme of the palatal shelves. The cleft palate phenotype observed in Lhx8-mutant mice suggests that Lhx8 is a candidate gene for the isolated nonsyndromic form of cleft palate in humans.

Notch signaling is not sufficient to define the affinity boundary between dorsal and ventral compartments

The developing limbs of Drosophila are subdivided into distinct cells populations known as compartments. Short-range interaction between cells in adjacent compartments induces expression of signaling molecules at the compartment boundaries. In addition to serving as the sources of long-range signals, compartment boundaries prevent mixing of the adjacent cell populations. One model for boundary formation proposes that affinity differences between compartments are defined autonomously as one aspect of compartment-specific cell identity. An alternative is that the affinity boundary depends on signaling between compartments. Here, we present evidence that the dorsal selector gene apterous plays a role in establishing the dorsoventral affinity boundary that is independent of Notch-mediated signaling between dorsal and ventral cells.

The role of the NK-homeobox gene slouch (S59) in somatic muscle patterning

In the Drosophila embryo, a distinct class of myoblasts, designated as muscle founders, prefigures the mature pattern of somatic body wall muscles. Each founder cell appears to be instrumental in generating a single larval muscle with a defined identity. The NK homeobox gene S59 was the first of a growing number of proposed ‘identity genes’ that have been found to be expressed in stereotyped patterns in specific subsets of muscle founders and their progenitor cells and are thought to control their developmental fates. In the present study, we describe the effects of gain- and loss-of-function experiments with S59. We find that a null mutation in the gene encoding S59, which we have named slouch (slou), disrupts the development of all muscles that are derived from S59-expressing founder cells. The observed phenotypes upon mutation and ectopic expression of slouch include transformations of founder cell fates, thus confirming that slouch (S59) functions as an identity gene in muscle development. These fate transformations occur between sibling founder cells as well as between neighboring founders that are not lineage-related. In the latter case, we show that slouch (S59) activity is required cell-autonomously to repress the expression of ladybird (lb) homeobox genes, thereby preventing specification along the lb pathway. Together, these findings provide new insights into the regulatory interactions that establish the somatic muscle pattern.

Fringe-dependent separation of dorsal and ventral cells in the Drosophila wing

The separation of cells into populations that do not intermix, termed compartments, is a fundamental organizing principle during development. Dorsal-ventral compartmentalization of the Drosophila wing is regulated downstream of the apterous (ap) gene, which encodes a transcription factor that specifies dorsal wing fate. fringe (fng) is normally expressed by dorsal cells downstream of ap; here we show that fng plays a key role in dorsal-ventral compartmentalization. Loss of fng function causes dorsal cells to violate the compartment boundary, and ectopic expression of the Fng protein causes ventral cells to violate thecompartment boundary. Fng modulates signalling through the Notch receptor. Notch and its ligands are essential for formation of the dorsal-ventral compartment border, and repositioning the stripe of Notch activation that is normally established there appears to reposition the compartment border. However, activation of Notch does not itself confer either dorsal or ventral cell location, and fng can influence compartmentalization even within regions of ubiquitous Notch activation. Our results indicate that the primary mechanism by which fng establishes a compartment border is by positioning a stripe of Notch activation, but also that fng may exert additional influences on compartmentalization.

Thorax closure in Drosophila: involvement of Fos and the JNK pathway

Dorsal closure, a morphogenetic movement during Drosophila embryogenesis, is controlled by the Drosophila JNK pathway, D-Fos and the phosphatase Puckered (Puc). To identify principles of epithelial closure processes, we studied another cell sheet movement that we term thorax closure, the joining of the parts of the wing imaginal discs which give rise to the adult thorax during metamorphosis. In thorax closure a special row of margin cells express puc and accumulate prominent actin fibres during midline attachment. Genetic data indicate a requirement of D-Fos and the JNK pathway for thorax closure, and a negative regulatory role of Puc. Furthermore, puc expression co-localises with elevated levels of D-Fos, is reduced in a JNK or D-Fos loss-of-function background and is ectopically induced after JNK activation. This suggests that Puc acts downstream of the JNK pathway and D-Fos to mediate a negative feed-back loop. Therefore, the molecular circuitry required for thorax closure is very similar to the one directing dorsal closure in the embryo, even though the tissues are not related. This finding supports the hypothesis that the mechanism controlling dorsal closure has been co-opted for thorax closure in the evolution of insect metamorphosis and may represent a more widely used functional module for tissue closure in other species as well.

Themes from a NASA workshop on gene regulatory processes in development and evolution

A memorable workshop, focused on causal mechanisms in metazoan evolution and sponsored by NASA, was held in early June 1998, at MBL. The workshop was organized by Mike Levine and Eric H. Davidson, and it included the PI and associates from 12 different laboratories, a total of about 30 people. Each laboratory had about two and one half hours in which to represent its recent research and cast up its current ideas for an often intense discussion. In the following we have tried to enunciate some of the major themes that emerged, and to reflect on their implications. The opinions voiced are our own. We would like to tender apologies over those contributions we have not been able to include, but this is not, strictly speaking, a meeting review. Rather we have focused on those topics that bear more directly on evolutionary mechanisms, and have therefore slighted some presentations (including some of our own), that were oriented mainly toward developmental processes. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol. ) 285:104-115, 1999.

Chip and apterous physically interact to form a functional complex during Drosophila development

LIM homeodomain (LIM-HD) proteins play key roles in a variety of developmental processes throughout the animal kingdom. Here we show that the LIM-binding protein Chip acts as a cofactor for the Drosophila LIM-HD family member Apterous (Ap) in wing development. We define the domains of Chip required for LIM-HD binding and for homodimerization and show that mutant proteins deleted for these domains act in a dominant-negative fashion to disrupt Ap function. Our results support a model for multimeric complexes containing Chip and Ap in transcriptional regulation. This model is confirmed by the activity of a chimeric fusion between Chip and Ap that reconstitutes the complex and rescues the ap mutant phenotype.

Regulation of LIM homeodomain activity in vivo: a tetramer of dLDB and apterous confers activity and capacity for regulation by dLMO

Dorsal-ventral axis formation in the Drosophila wing depends on the activity of the LIM homeodomain transcription factor Apterous and its cofactor, dLDB/Chip. We present evidence that Apterous activity depends on the formation of a LIM homeodomain dimer bridged by a dimer of cofactor. We show that Apterous activity levels are regulated in vivo by dLMO, an antagonist of homodimer formation. Making use of a constitutively active form of Apterous and dominant-negative forms of Apterous and dLDB/Chip, we show that the normal function of dLMO is to downregulate Apterous activity and that the dLMO mutant phenotype is due to excess Apterous activity. These findings may point to a general mechanism for regulation of LIM homeodomain protein activity.

The Iroquois homeodomain proteins are required to specify body wall identity in Drosophila

The Iroquois complex (Iro-C) homeodomain proteins allow cells at the proximal part of the Drosophila imaginal wing disc to form mesothoracic body wall (notum). Cells lacking these proteins form wing hinge structures instead (tegula and axillary sclerites). Moreover, the mutant cells impose on neighboring wild-type cells more distal developmental fates, like lateral notum or wing hinge. These findings support a tergal phylogenetic origin for the most proximal part of the wing and provide evidence for a novel pattern organizing center at the border between the apposed notum (Iro-C-expressing) and hinge (Iro-C-nonexpressing) cells. This border is not a cell lineage restriction boundary.

Role of the male specific lethal (msl) genes in modifying the effects of sex chromosomal dosage in Drosophila

Immunostaining of chromosomes shows that the male-specific lethal (MSL) proteins are associated with all female chromosomes at a low level but are sequestered to the X chromosome in males. Histone-4 Lys-16 acetylation follows a similar pattern in normal males and females, being higher on the X and lower on the autosomes in males than in females. However, the staining pattern of acetylation and the mof gene product, a putative histone acetylase, in msl mutant males returns to a uniform genome-wide distribution as found in females. Gene expression on the autosomes correlates with the level of histone-4 acetylation. With minor exceptions, the expression levels of X-linked genes are maintained with either an increase or decrease of acetylation, suggesting that the MSL complex renders gene activity unresponsive to H4Lys16 acetylation. Evidence was also found for the presence of nucleation sites for association of the MSL proteins with the X chromosome rather than individual gene binding sequences. We suggest that sequestration of the MSL proteins occurs in males to nullify on the autosomes and maintain on the X, an inverse effect produced by negatively acting dosage-dependent regulatory genes as a consequence of the evolution of the X/Y sex chromosomal system.

FMRFamide neuropeptides and neuropeptide-associated enzymes in Drosophila

To review the histochemistry of neuropeptide transmitters system in insects, this chapter focuses on the biology of FMRFamide-related neuropeptides in Drosophila. dFMRFamide expression is limited to a small number of neurons that present a complex spatial pattern and whose functions appear heterogeneous. The neuropeptide is first expressed by a few neurons in late stage embryos, then dynamically in as many as 44 neurons in the larval CNS. This review describes histochemical procedures to evaluate this neuronal phenotype and its regulation, including descriptions of promoter activity, and RNA and peptide distributions. To evaluate the use of peptidergic transmitters on a broad scale, I also review experiments in Drosophila studying enzymes necessary for neuropeptide biosynthesis, and in particular, histochemical studies of an enzyme responsible for peptide alpha-amidation.

Conservation of the expression and function of apterous orthologs in Drosophila and mammals

The Drosophila apterous (ap) gene encodes a protein of the LIM-homeodomain family. Many transcription factors of this class have been conserved during evolution; however, the functional significance of their structural conservation is generally not known. ap is best known for its fundamental role as a dorsal selector gene required for patterning and growth of the wing, but it also has other important functions required for neuronal fasciculation, fertility, and normal viability. We isolated mouse (mLhx2) and human (hLhx2) ap orthologs, and we used transgenic animals and rescue assays to investigate the conservation of the Ap protein during evolution. We found that the human protein LHX2 is able to regulate correctly ap target genes in the fly, causes the same phenotypes as Ap when ectopically produced, and most importantly rescues ap mutant phenotypes as efficiently as the fly protein. In addition, we found striking similarities in the expression patterns of the Drosophila and murine genes. Both mLhx2 and ap are expressed in the respective nerve cords, eyes, olfactory organs, brain, and limbs. These results demonstrate the conservation of Ap protein function across phyla and argue that aspects of its expression pattern have also been conserved from a common ancestor of insects and vertebrates.

Characterization of Lhx9, a novel LIM/homeobox gene expressed by the pioneer neurons in the mouse cerebral cortex

In order to explain the phenotype observed in Lhx2 mutant embryos, we previously proposed that an Lhx2 related gene might exist. We now have cloned a new LIM/homeobox gene called Lhx9. Lhx9 is closely related to Lhx2 and is expressed in the developing central nervous system (CNS). Lhx9 and Lhx2 have expression patterns that overlap in some areas but are distinct in others. Thus, in some developmental domains these two highly related proteins may be functionally redundant. Lhx9 is expressed in the pioneer neurons of the cerebral cortex, while Lhx2 is expressed throughout the cortical layers. Postnatally, Lhx9 is expressed in the inner nuclei of the cerebellum, while Lhx2 is in the granular layer. In the developing limbs, both genes are highly expressed in a similar pattern. Based on the expression pattern and the developmental regulation of Lhx9, we propose that Lhx9 may be involved in the specification or function of the pioneer neurons of the cerebral cortex. We show that both Lhx9 and Lhx2 bind the LIM domain binding protein Ldb1/Nli1/Clim2.

Role of the EGF receptor pathway in growth and patterning of the Drosophila wing through the regulation of vestigial

Growth and patterning of the Drosophila wing disc depends on the coordinated expression of the key regulatory gene vestigial both in the Dorsal-Ventral (D/V) boundary cells and in the wing pouch. We propose that a short-range signal originating from the core of the D/V boundary cells is responsible for activating EGFR in a zone of organizing cells on the edges of the D/V boundary. Using loss-of-function mutations and ectopic expression studies, we show that EGFR signaling is essential for vestigial transcription in these cells and for making them competent to undergo subsequent vestigial-mediated proliferation within the wing pouch.

The relative expression amounts of apterous and its co-factor dLdb/Chip are critical for dorso-ventral compartmentalization in the Drosophila wing

Dorso-ventral axis formation in the Drosophila wing requires the localized accumulation of the Apterous LIM/homeodomain protein (Ap) in dorsal cells. Here we report that dLdb/Chip encodes a LIM-binding cofactor that controls Ap activity. Both lack and excess of dLdb/Chip function cause the same phenotype as apterous (ap) lack of function; i.e. dorsal to ventral transformations, generation of new wing margins, and wing outgrowths. These results indicate that the normal function of Ap in dorso-ventral compartmentalization requires the correct amount of the DLDB/CHIP co-factor, and suggest that the Ap and DLDB/CHIP proteins form a multimeric functional complex. In support of this model, we show that the dLdb/Chip excess-of-function phenotypes can be rescued by ap overexpression.

Cell type-specific regulation of the Drosophila FMRF-NH2 neuropeptide gene by Apterous, a LIM homeodomain transcription factor

We describe the direct and cell-specific regulation of the Drosophila FMRFa neuropeptide gene by Apterous, a LIM homeodomain transcription factor. dFMRFa and Apterous are expressed in partially overlapping subsets of neurons, including two of the seventeen dFMRFa cell types, the Tv neuroendocrine cells and the SP2 interneurons. Apterous contributes to the initiation of dFMRFa expression in Tv neurons, but not in those dFMRFa neurons that do not express Apterous. Apterous is not required for Tv neuron survival or morphological differentiation. Apterous contributes to the maintenance of dFMRFa expression by postembryonic Tv neurons, although the strength of its regulation is diminished. Apterous regulation of dFMRFa expression includes direct mechanisms, although ectopic Apterous does not induce ectopic dFMRFa. These findings show that, for a subset of neurons that share a common neurotransmitter phenotype, the Apterous LIM homeoprotein helps define neurotransmitter expression with very limited effects on other aspects of differentiation.

Regionalized organizing activity of the neural tube revealed by the regulation of lmx1 in the otic vesicle

LIM homeodomain genes have been involved in patterning in a variety of organisms. I have analyzed the expression of lmx1 during early ear development and explored its regulation by the neuroectoderm. Experiments were carried out on chick embryos. During early somitic stages (4-6 somites), lmx1 was expressed in the neural tube and in a stripe of the dorsal ectoderm. The ectodermal expression domain was then restricted to the otic placode (7-10 somites). At otic cup stages, lmx1 was downregulated in ventral and medial aspects of the otic epithelium facing the neural tube. This resulted in a dorsal and lateral restriction of lmx1 that persisted until the otic vesicle stage. The dependence of lmx1 on interactions with the neuroectoderm was explored by carrying out ablations of the neural tube in organotypic explants containing the otic presumptive ectoderm. Both the formation of the otic vesicle and expression of lmx1 were dependent on the presence of the neural ectoderm during stages preceding placode formation (4-6 somites). Thereafter, the formation of the otic vesicle was progressively autonomous, and by the stage of 10 somites the otic ectoderm developed into otic vesicles and expressed lmx1 in foreign environments. Dorsal and ventral neuroectoderms displayed differential effects on lmx1 expression. Ablation of the dorsal neural tube resulted in a reduced expression of lmx1, which was more dramatic during early placode and preplacode stages (5-7 somites). Removal of the ventral aspect of the neural tube (including the notochord) had opposite effects, expression of lmx1 increased, and its domain expanded. The formation of the otic vesicle, however, was supported by either the dorsal or ventral neuroectoderm. The experiments suggest that lmx1 is involved in early patterning of the otic vesicle, and they provide evidence for the regional segregation of organizing activities within the neural tube.

Lhx2, a vertebrate homologue of apterous, regulates vertebrate limb outgrowth

apterous specifies dorsal cell fate and directs outgrowth of the wing during Drosophila wing development. Here we show that, in vertebrates, these functions appear to be performed by two separate proteins. Lmx-1 is necessary and sufficient to specify dorsal identity and Lhx2 regulates limb outgrowth. Our results suggest that Lhx2 is closer to apterous than Lmx-1, yet, in vertebrates, Lhx2 does not specify dorsal cell fate. This implies that in vertebrates, unlike Drosophila, limb outgrowth can be dissociated from the establishment of the dorsoventral axis.

Function and specificity of LIM domains in Drosophila nervous system and wing development

LIM domains are found in a variety of proteins, including cytoplasmic and nuclear LIM-only proteins, LIM-homeodomain (LIM-HD) transcription factors and LIM-kinases. Although the ability of LIM domains to interact with other proteins has been clearly established in vitro and in cultured cells, their in vivo function is unknown. Here we use Drosophila to test the roles of the LIM domains of the LIM-HD family member Apterous (Ap) in wing and nervous system development. Using a rescuing assay of the ap mutant phenotype, we have found that the LIM domains are essential for Ap function. Furthermore, expression of LIM domains alone can act in a dominant-negative fashion to disrupt Ap function. The Ap LIM domains can be replaced by those of another family member to generate normal wing structure, but LIM domains are not interchangeable during axon pathfinding of the Ap neurons. This suggests that the Ap LIM domains mediate different protein interactions in different developmental processes, and that LIM domains can participate in conferring specificity of target gene selection.

Expression of the LIM-homeobox gene LH2 generates immortalized steel factor-dependent multipotent hematopoietic precursors

The genes controlling self-renewal and differentiation in the hematopoietic system are largely unknown. The LIM-homeobox genes are known to be important for asymmetric cell divisions and differentiation of specific cell types and organs. One member of this family, LH2, is expressed in fetal liver at the time of active hematopoiesis. Therefore, we have assessed the function of LH2 during the formation and initial expansion of the hematopoietic system by differentiating LH2-transduced embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro. This procedure generated multipotent hematopoietic precursor cell (HPC) lines that required Steel factor for growth. HPC lines have been maintained in an undifferentiated state in culture for >7 months. Other growth factors tested efficiently induce terminal differentiation of HPCs into various mature myeloid lineages. Steel factor is also required and acts synergistically with the other growth factors to generate multilineage colonies from the HPCs. These HPC lines express transcription factors that are consistent with an immature progenitor, and the pattern of cell surface marker expression is similar to that of early fetal multipotent hematopoietic progenitors. Collectively, these data suggest that the HPC lines represent an early fetal multipotent hematopoietic progenitor, and suggest a role for LH2 in the control of cell fate decision and/or proliferation in the hematopoietic system.

Beadex encodes an LMO protein that regulates Apterous LIM-homeodomain activity in Drosophila wing development: a model for LMO oncogene function

Formation of the dorsal-ventral axis of the Drosophila wing depends on activity of the LIM-homeodomain protein Apterous (Ap). Here we report that Ap activity levels are modulated by dLMO, the protein encoded by the Beadex (Bx) gene. Overexpression of dLMO in Bx mutants interferes with Apterous function. Conversely, Bx loss-of-function mutants fail to down-regulate Apterous activity at late stages of wing development. Biochemical analysis shows that dLMO protein competes for binding of Apterous to its cofactor Chip. These data suggest that Apterous activity depends on formation of a functional complex with Chip and that the relative levels of dLMO, Apterous, and Chip determine the level of Apterous activity. The dominant interference mechanism of dLMO action may serve as a model for the mechanism by which LMO oncogenes cause cancer when misexpressed in T cells.

Overexpression Beadex mutations and loss-of-function heldup-a mutations in Drosophila affect the 3' regulatory and coding components, respectively, of the Dlmo gene

LIM domains function as bridging modules between different members of multiprotein complexes. We report the cloning of a LIM-containing gene from Drosophila, termed Dlmo, which is highly homologous to the vertebrate LIM-only (LMO) genes. The 3' untranslated (UTR) of Dlmo contains multiple motifs implicated in negative post-transcriptional regulation, including AT-rich elements and Brd-like boxes. Dlmo resides in polytene band 17C1-2, where Beadex (Bx) and heldup-a (hdp-a) mutations map. We demonstrate that Bx mutations disrupt the 3'UTR of Dlmo, and thereby abrogate the putative negative control elements. This results in overexpression of Dlmo, which causes the wing scalloping that is typical of Bx mutants. We show that the erect wing phenotype of hdp-a results from disruption of the coding region of Dlmo. This provides molecular grounds for the suppression of the Bx phenotype by hdp-a mutations. Finally, we demonstrate phenotypic interaction between the LMO gene Dlmo, the LIM homeodomain gene apterous, and the Chip gene, which encodes a homolog of the vertebrate LIM-interacting protein NLI/Ldb1. We propose that in analogy to their vertebrate counterparts, these proteins form a DNA-binding complex that regulates wing development.

The Drosophila LIM-only gene, dLMO, is mutated in Beadex alleles and might represent an evolutionarily conserved function in appendage development

The process of wing patterning involves precise molecular mechanisms to establish an organizing center at the dorsal-ventral boundary, which functions to direct the development of the Drosophila wing. We report that misexpression of dLMO, a Drosophila LIM-only protein, in specific patterns in the developing wing imaginal disc, disrupts the dorsal-ventral (D-V) boundary and causes errors in wing patterning. When dLMO is misexpressed along the anterior-posterior boundary, extra wing outgrowth occurs, similar to the phenotype seen when mutant clones lacking Apterous, a LIM homeodomain protein known to be essential for normal D-V patterning of the wing, are made in the wing disc. When dLMO is misexpressed along the D-V boundary in third instar larvae, loss of the wing margin is observed. This phenotype is very similar to the phenotype of Beadex, a long-studied dominant mutation that we show disrupts the dLMO transcript in the 3' untranslated region. dLMO normally is expressed in the wing pouch of the third instar wing imaginal disc during patterning. A mammalian homolog of dLMO is expressed in the developing limb bud of the mouse. This indicates that LMO proteins might function in an evolutionarily conserved mechanism involved in patterning the appendages.

Genetic lesions in Drosophila behavioural mutants

Over the last 30 years, several hundred behavioural mutants have been isolated in Drosophila. Only a fraction of these are well characterized genetically, behaviourally, and structurally. From six areas of behaviour a set of 24 well-studied mutants was chosen, in which the behavioural defect is probably caused by a central dysfunction and not by an impairment of sensory input or motor output. In all cases, the affected genes can be mutated to more than just a behavioural phenotype. Most genes in the sample are essential. Thus, phenotypic specificity is caused by the specificity of the mutation and not by the gene being a 'behavioural gene'. This study investigates how partial functional inactivation in these loci is brought about genetically. In particular, an attempt is made to discern whether behavioural mutations affect part of a protein's functional repertoire, a subset of protein isoforms, or the spatio-temporal expression of a gene. Not unexpectedly, in view of the predominant use of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) as mutagen, the majority of sampled mutations fall into the first two categories. The potentially richest source of genetic versatility, the spatio-temporal modulation of promoter activity by enhancers and silencers, has thus been insufficiently exploited for obtaining behavioural mutants. Various mutagens are reviewed as to their suitability in inducing selective regulatory mutations.

Interactions between Wingless and DFz2 during Drosophila wing development

Drosophila Wingless (Wg) is a secreted signaling protein of the Wnt family. Mutations in the wg gene disrupt the patterning of embryonic segments and their adult derivatives. Wg protein has been shown in cell culture to functionally interact with DFz2, a receptor that is structurally related to the tissue polarity protein Frizzled (Fz). However, it has not been determined if DFz2 functions in the Wg signaling pathway during fly development. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of DFz2 increases Wg-dependent signaling to induce ectopic margin bristle formation in developing Drosophila wings. Overexpression of a truncated form of DFz2 acts in a dominant-negative manner to block Wg signaling at the wing margin, and this block is rescued by co-expression of full-length DFz2 but not full-length Fz. Our results suggest that DFz2 and not Fz acts in the Wg signaling pathway for wing margin development. However, a truncated form of Fz also blocks Wg signaling in embryo and wing margin development, and the truncated form of DFz2 affects ommatidial polarity during eye development. These observations suggest that a single dominant-negative form of Fz or DFz2 can block more than one type of Wnt signaling pathway and imply that truncated proteins of the Fz family lose some aspect of signaling specificity.

Positive and negative control of Serrate expression during early development of the Drosophila wing

The product of the Drosophila gene Serrate acts as a short-range signal during wing development to induce the organising centre at the dorsal/ventral compartment boundary, from which growth and patterning of the wing is controlled. Regulatory elements reflecting the early Serrate expression in the dorsal compartment of the wing disc have recently been confined to a genomic fragment in the 5'-upstream region of the gene. Here we present data to suggest that this fragment responds to various positive and negative inputs required for the early Serrate expression. First, activation and maintenance of expression in the dorsal compartment of the wing discs of second and early third instar larvae depends on apterous, as revealed by reporter gene expression in discs either lacking or ectopically expressing apterous. Second, transcriptional downregulation during third larval instar is mediated by hiiragi. Finally, this regulatory element responds to Delta signalling in a nonautonomous way to maintain Serrate expression along the dorsal margin. The results clearly show that some of the previously described transactivators of Serrate protein expression, e.g. fringe, act on elements required for later aspects of Serrate expression.

Interactions among Delta, Serrate and Fringe modulate Notch activity during Drosophila wing development

The Notch signalling pathway plays an important role during the development of the wing primordium, especially of the wing blade and margin. In these processes, the activity of Notch is controlled by the activity of the dorsal specific nuclear protein Apterous, which regulates the expression of the Notch ligand, Serrate, and the Fringe signalling molecule. The other Notch ligand, Delta, also plays a role in the development and patterning of the wing. It has been proposed that Fringe modulates the ability of Serrate and Delta to signal through Notch and thereby restricts Notch signalling to the dorsoventral boundary of the developing wing blade. Here we report the results of experiments aimed at establishing the relationships between Fringe, Serrate and Delta during wing development. We find that Serrate is not required for the initiation of wing development but rather for the expansion and early patterning of the wing primordium. We provide evidence that, at the onset of wing development, Delta is under the control of apterous and might be the Notch ligand in this process. In addition, we find that Fringe function requires Su(H). Our results suggest that Notch signalling during wing development relies on careful balances between positive and dominant negative interactions between Notch ligands, some of which are mediated by Fringe.

Leafbladeless1 is required for dorsoventrality of lateral organs in maize

The maize leafbladeless1 (lbl1) mutant displays a variety of leaf and plant phenotypes. The most extreme manifestation in the leaf is the formation of radially symmetric, abaxialized leaves due to a complete loss of adaxial cell types. Less severe phenotypes, resulting from a partial loss of adaxial cell identity, include the formation of ectopic laminae at the boundary between abaxialized, mutant sectors on the adaxial leaf surface and the bifurcation of leaves. Ectopic laminae and bifurcations arise early in leaf development and result in an altered patterning of the leaf along the proximodistal axis, or in complete duplication of the developing organ. Leaf-like lateral organs of the inflorescences and flowers show similar phenotypes. These observations suggest that Lbl1 is required for the specification of adaxial cell identity within leaves and leaf-like lateral organs. Lbl1 is also required for the lateral propagation of leaf founder cell recruitment, and plays a direct or indirect role in the downregulation of the homeobox gene, knotted1, during leaf development. Our results suggest that adaxial/abaxial asymmetry of lateral organs is specified in the shoot apical meristem, and that formation of this axis is essential for marginal, lateral growth and for the specification of points of proximodistal growth. Parallels between early patterning events during lateral organ development in plants and animals are discussed.

Expression and regulation of Lhx6 and Lhx7, a novel subfamily of LIM homeodomain encoding genes, suggests a role in mammalian head development

LIM-homeobox containing (Lhx) genes encode trascriptional regulators which play critical roles in a variety of developmental processes. We have identified two genes belonging to a novel subfamily of mammalian Lhx genes, designated Lhx6 and Lhx7. Whole-mount in situ hybridisation showed that Lhx6 and Lhx7 were expressed during mouse embryogenesis in overlapping domains of the first branchial arch and the basal forebrain. More specifically, expression of Lhx6 and Lhx7 was detected prior to initiation of tooth formation in the presumptive oral and odontogenic mesenchyme of the maxillary and mandibular processes. During tooth formation, expression was restricted to the mesenchyme of individual teeth. Using explant cultures, we have shown that expression of Lhx6 and Lhx7 in mandibular mesenchyme was under the control of signals derived from the overlying epithelium; such signals were absent from the epithelium of the non-odontogenic second branchial arch. Furthermore, expression studies and bead implantation experiments in vitro have provided strong evidence that Fgf8 is primarily responsible for the restricted expression of Lhx6 and Lhx7 in the oral aspect of the maxillary and mandibular processes. In the telencephalon, expression of both genes was predominantly localised in the developing medial ganglionic eminences, flanking a Fgf8-positive midline region. We suggest that Fgf8 and Lhx6 and Lhx7 are key components of signalling cascades which determine morphogenesis and differentiation in the first branchial arch and the basal forebrain.

Ectopic expression of lunatic Fringe leads to downregulation of Serrate-1 in the developing chick neural tube; analysis using in ovo electroporation transfection technique

Lunatic Fringe (l-Fng) is one of the vertebrate homologues of Drosophila Fringe, which interacts with the Notch signal pathway and regulates activation of the Notch ligands, Delta and Serrate. To elucidate the roles of l-Fng in vertebrate neurogenesis, we transfected chick l-Fng (C-l-Fng) to chick neural tube using the in ovo electroporation technique and examined the subsequent changes in expression of Notch-related genes. We observed downregulation of C-Serrate-1 by ectopic C-l-Fng expression which implied that C-l-Fng acts on the vertebrate Notch pathway to regulate the expression of its ligand.

Control of neural development and function in a thermoregulatory network by the LIM homeobox gene lin-11

We show here that the lin-11 LIM homeobox gene is expressed in nine classes of head, ventral cord, and tail neurons and functions at a late step in the development of a subset of these neurons. In a lin-11 null mutant, all lin-11-expressing neurons are generated. Several of these neurons, however, exhibit neuroanatomical as well as functional defects. In the lateral head ganglion, lin-11 functions in a neural network that regulates thermosensory behavior. It is expressed in the AIZ interneuron that processes high temperature input and is required for the function of AIZ in the thermoregulatory neural network. Another LIM homeobox gene, ttx-3, functions in the antagonistic thermoregulatory interneuron AIY (). Thus, distinct LIM genes specify the functions of functionally related antagonistic interneurons within a neural network dedicated for thermoregulatory processes. Both ttx-3 and lin-11 expression are maintained throughout adulthood, suggesting that these LIM homeobox genes play a role in the functional maintenance of this neural circuit. We propose that particular LIM homeobox genes specify the distinct features of functionally related neurons that generate patterned behaviors.

Wing development and specification of dorsal cell fates in the absence of apterous in Drosophila

The development and patterning of the Drosophila wing relies on interactions between cell populations that have the anteroposterior (AP) axis and dorsoventral (DV) axis of the wing imaginal disc as frames of reference [1-3]. Each of these cell populations gives rise to a compartment - a group of cells that have their fates restricted by cell lineage - within which cells acquire specific identities through the expression of 'selector' genes [1,2,4]. The genes engrailed (en) and invected (inv), for example, label cells in the posterior compartment and mediate a set of cell interactions that direct the patterning and growth of the wing along the AP axis [1,2,4]. A similar situation has been proposed to exist across the DV axis, along with apterous (ap) as a dorsal selector gene [5], mediating cell interactions by regulating the expression of Serrate (Ser) [6] [7] and fringe (fng) [8]. In ap mutants, the wing is lost [5] [9], and here we report that this phenotype can be rescued by ectopic expression of either Ser or fng and that, surprisingly, the resulting wings have both dorsal and ventral cell fates.

Different spatial and temporal interactions between Notch, wingless, and vestigial specify proximal and distal pattern elements of the wing in Drosophila

The wing of Drosophila is composed of a proximal element, the hinge, which attaches it to the thorax, and a distal one, the wing blade. The development of the wing is a complex process that requires the integration of cellular responses to two signaling systems centered along the anteroposterior and the dorsoventral axes. The genes Notch (N) and wingless (wg) play an important role in generating the information from the dorsoventral axis. The vestigial (vg) gene is necessary for the development of the wing and is a target of these signaling systems during the growth of the wing. Here we examine the roles that N, wg, and vg play during the initial stages of wing development. Our results reveal that vg is involved in the specification of the wing primordium under the combined control of Notch and wingless signaling. Furthermore, we show that once cells are assigned to the wing fate, their development relies on a sequence of regulatory loops that involve N, wg, and vg. During this process, cells that are exposed to the activity of both wg and vg will become wing blade and those that are continuously under the influence of wg alone will develop as hinge. Our results also indicate that the growth of the cells in the wing blade results from a synergistic effect of the three genes N, wg, and vg on the cells that have been specified as wing blade.

DeLIMiting development

LIM-homeodomain transcription factors (LIM-HD) regulate expression of genes that pattern the body and generate cell specificity during development in invertebrates and vertebrates. It is especially interesting that most are expressed in and participate in the development of the nervous system. LIM-HD proteins are themselves regulated by both intramolecular and intermolecular interactions mediated by the LIM domains. LIM domains positively regulate LIM-HD activity by promoting protein-protein interactions that allow cooperative binding to regulatory regions of tissue-specific promoters. They also negatively regulate LIM-HD activity, possibly by preventing HD association with DNA. Interaction of LIM domains with other proteins relieves this interference, permitting DNA binding and providing a mechanism for refining LIM-HD activity. The recurrence of LIM-HD proteins in fundamental developmental processes emphasizes the importance of their function and regulation and provides an opportunity to identify mechanisms and molecules underlying patterning and cell specification.

Novel regulatory interactions revealed by studies of murine limb pattern in Wnt-7a and En-1 mutants

Classical embryological experiments have demonstrated that dorsal-ventral patterning of the vertebrate limb is dependent upon ectodermal signals. One such factor is Wnt-7a, a member of the Wnt family of secreted proteins, which is expressed in the dorsal ectoderm. Loss of Wnt-7a results in the appearance of ventral characteristics in the dorsal half of the distal limb. Conversely, En-1, a homeodomain transcription factor, is expressed exclusively in the ventral ectoderm, where it represses Wnt-7a. En-1 mutants have dorsal characteristics in the ventral half of the distal limb. Experiments in the chick suggest that the dorsalizing activity of Wnt-7a in the mesenchyme is mediated through the regulation of the LIM-homeodomain transcription factor Lmx-1. Here we have examined the relationship between Wnt-7a, En-1 and Lmx-1b, a mouse homolog of chick Lmx-1, in patterning the mammalian limb. We find that Wnt-7a is required for Lmx-1b expression in distal limb mesenchyme, and that Lmx-1b activation in the ventral mesenchyme of En-1 mutants requires Wnt-7a. Consistent with Lmx-1b playing a primary role in dorsalization of the limb, we find a direct correlation between regions of the anterior distal limb in which Lmx-lb is misregulated during limb development and the localization of dorsal-ventral patterning defects in Wnt-7a and En-1 mutant adults. Thus, ectopic Wnt-7a expression and Lmx-1b activation underlie the dorsalized En-1 phenotype, although our analysis also reveals a Wnt-7a-independent activity for En-1 in the repression of pigmentation in the ventral epidermis. Finally, we demonstrate that ectopic expression of Wnt-7a in the ventral limb ectoderm of En-1 mutants results in the formation of a second, ventral apical ectodermal ridge (AER) at the junction between Wnt-7a-expressing and nonexpressing ectoderm. Unlike the normal AER, ectopic AER formation is dependent upon Wnt-7a activity, indicating that distinct genetic mechanisms may be involved in primary and secondary AER formation.

Dorsal-ventral signaling in limb development

In both Drosophila wings and vertebrate limbs, signaling between dorsal and ventral cells establishes an organizer that promotes limb formation. Significant progress has been made recently towards characterizing the signaling interactions that occur at the dorsal-ventral limb border. Studies of chicks have indicated that, as in Drosophila, this signaling process requires the participation of Fringe. Studies of Drosophila have indicated that Fringe functions by inhibiting the ability of Notch to be activated by one ligand, Serrate, while potentiating the ability of Notch to be activated by another ligand, Delta. Recent studies of both Drosophila and vertebrates have also shed new light on the signaling activity of the dorsal-ventral boundary limb organizer, and have highlighted how this organizer is maintained by feedback mechanisms with neighboring cells.

Chip, a widely expressed chromosomal protein required for segmentation and activity of a remote wing margin enhancer in Drosophila

The mechanisms allowing remote enhancers to regulate promoters several kilobase pairs away are unknown but are blocked by the Drosophila suppressor of Hairy-wing protein (Suhw) that binds to gypsy retrovirus insertions between enhancers and promoters. Suhw bound to a gypsy insertion in the cut gene also appears to act interchromosomally to antagonize enhancer-promoter interactions on the homologous chromosome when activity of the Chip gene is reduced. This implicates Chip in enhancer-promoter communication. We cloned Chip and find that it encodes a homolog of the recently discovered mouse Nli/Ldb1/Clim-2 and Xenopus Xldb1 proteins that bind nuclear LIM domain proteins. Chip protein interacts with the LIM domains in the Apterous homeodomain protein, and Chip interacts genetically with apterous, showing that these interactions are important for Apterous function in vivo. Importantly, Chip also appears to have broad functions beyond interactions with LIM domain proteins. Chip is present in all nuclei examined and at numerous sites along the salivary gland polytene chromosomes. Embryos without Chip activity lack segments and show abnormal gap and pair-rule gene expression, although no LIM domain proteins are known to regulate segmentation. We conclude that Chip is a ubiquitous chromosomal factor required for normal expression of diverse genes at many stages of development. We suggest that Chip cooperates with different LIM domain proteins and other factors to structurally support remote enhancer-promoter interactions.

Proximo-distal specification in the wing disc of Drosophila by the nubbin gene

Mutations in the nubbin (nub) gene have a phenotype consisting of a severe wing size reduction and pattern alterations, such as transformations of distal elements into proximal ones. nub expression is restricted to the wing pouch cells in wing discs since early larval development. These effects are also observed in genetic mosaics where cell proliferation is reduced in all wing blade regions autonomously, and transformation into proximal elements is observed in distal clones. Clones located in the proximal region of the wing blade cause in addition nonautonomous reduction of the whole wing. Cell lineage experiments in a nub mutant background show that clones respect neither the anterior-posterior nor the dorsal-ventral boundary but that the selector genes have been correctly expressed since early larval development. The phenotypes of nub el and nub dpp genetic combinations are synergistic and the overexpression of dpp in clones in nub wings does not result in overproliferation of the surrounding wild-type cells. We discuss the role of nub in the wing's proximo-distal axis and in the formation of compartment boundaries.

Functional analysis of the nuclear LIM domain interactor NLI

LIM homeodomain and LIM-only (LMO) transcription factors contain two tandemly arranged Zn2+-binding LIM domains capable of mediating protein-protein interactions. These factors have restricted patterns of expression, are found in invertebrates as well as vertebrates, and are required for cell type specification in a variety of developing tissues. A recently identified, widely expressed protein, NLI, binds with high affinity to the LIM domains of LIM homeodomain and LMO proteins in vitro and in vivo. In this study, a 38-amino-acid fragment of NLI was found to be sufficient for the association of NLI with nuclear LIM domains. In addition, NLI was shown to form high affinity homodimers through the amino-terminal 200 amino acids, but dimerization of NLI was not required for association with the LIM homeodomain protein Lmxl. Chemical cross-linking analysis revealed higher-order complexes containing multiple NLI molecules bound to Lmx1, indicating that dimerization of NLI does not interfere with LIM domain interactions. Additionally, NLI formed complexes with Lmx1 on the rat insulin I promoter and inhibited the LIM domain-dependent synergistic transcriptional activation by Lmx1 and the basic helix-loop-helix protein E47 from the rat insulin I minienhancer. These studies indicate that NLI contains at least two functionally independent domains and may serve as a negative regulator of synergistic transcriptional responses which require direct interaction via LIM domains. Thus, NLI may regulate the transcriptional activity of LIM homeodomain proteins by determining specific partner interactions.

Arrowhead encodes a LIM homeodomain protein that distinguishes subsets of Drosophila imaginal cells

The Arrowhead gene encodes a LIM-homeodomain transcription factor required for establishment of a subset of imaginal tissues: the abdominal histoblasts and the salivary gland imaginal rings. Consistent with its role in development, during embryogenesis Arrowhead is expressed in each abdominal segment and in the labial segment. Late in embryonic development, expression is refined to the abdominal histoblasts and salivary gland imaginal ring cells themselves. When ectopically expressed in imaginal disc cells, Arrowhead causes programmed cell death and loss of corresponding adult structures. Therefore, Arrowhead expression is required for development of one set of imaginal cells and is incompatible with development of another, emphasizing the specificity of Arrowhead and the sensitivity of different target cells to its expression. Loss-of-function mutations in Arrowhead affect conserved or invariant amino acids in the LIM- and homeo-domains demonstrating the importance of these residues in LIM homeodomain protein activity.

The homeobox gene Distal-less induces ventral appendage development in Drosophila

This study investigates the role of the homeobox gene Distal-less (Dll) in the development of the legs, antennae, and wings of Drosophila. Lack of Dll function causes a change in the identity of ventral appendage cells (legs and antennae) that often results in the loss of the appendage. Ectopic Dll expression in the proximal region of ventral appendages induces nonautonomous duplication of legs and antennae by the activation of wingless and decapentaplegic. Ectopic Dll expression in dorsal appendages produces transformation into corresponding ventral appendages; wings and halteres develop ectopic legs and the head-eye region develops ectopic antennae. In the wing, the exogenous Dll product induces this transformation by activating the endogenous Dll gene and repressing the wing determinant gene vestigial. It is proposed that Dll induces the development of ventral appendages and also participates in a genetic address that specifies the identity of ventral appendages and discriminates the dorsal versus the ventral appendages in the adult. However, unlike other homeotic genes, Dll expression and function is not defined by a cell lineage border. Dll also performs a secondary and late function required for the normal patterning of the wing.

Feed-back mechanisms affecting Notch activation at the dorsoventral boundary in the Drosophila wing

Notch function is required at the dorsoventral boundary of the developing Drosophila wing for its normal growth and patterning. We find that clones of cells expressing either Notch or its ligands Delta and Serrate in the wing mimic Notch activation at the dorsoventral boundary producing non-autonomous effects on proliferation, and activating expression of the target genes E(spl), wingless and cut. The analysis of these clones reveals several mechanisms important for maintaining and delimiting Notch function at the dorsoventral boundary. First, Notch activation in the wing leads to increased production of Delta and Serrate generating a positive feedback loop that maintains signalling. We propose that during normal development, wingless co-operates with Notch to reinforce this positive feedback and Cut, which is activated by Notch at late stages, acts antagonistically to prevent Delta and Serrate expression. Second, high levels of Delta and Serrate have a dominant negative effect on Notch, so that at late stages Notch can only be activated in cells next to the ligand-producing cells. Thus the combined effects of Notch and its target genes cut and wingless regulate the expression of Notch ligands which restrict Notch activity to the dorsoventral boundary.