Mosaic analysis reveals a cell-autonomous, neuronal requirement for Commissureless in the Drosophila CNS

Dev Genes Evol. 2003 Oct;213(10):500-4. doi: 10.1007/s00427-003-0349-1. Epub 2003 Aug 20.

Abstract

Commissureless (Comm) is a key regulator of axon guidance at the midline of the Drosophila CNS. Here we report results from mosaic analysis experiments that demonstrate a cell-autonomous, neuronal requirement for Comm. Using the MARCM system to positively label clonal patches, we find that neurons which are not deficient for Comm function make commissural projections 85% of the time. Clones of neurons that are homozygous mutant for comm make commissural projections at a statistically significant reduced frequency: 70% for comm(1), a hypomorphic mutation, and 58% for comm(5), a near null mutation. These data suggest that commissural axon guidance is dependent upon regulated expression of Comm in neurons.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alleles*
  • Animals
  • Axons / metabolism*
  • Axons / physiology
  • Central Nervous System / metabolism
  • Central Nervous System / physiology*
  • DNA Nucleotidyltransferases
  • Drosophila / genetics
  • Drosophila / metabolism
  • Drosophila / physiology*
  • Drosophila Proteins*
  • Gene Expression*
  • Hot Temperature
  • Larva / metabolism
  • Larva / physiology
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • comm protein, Drosophila
  • DNA Nucleotidyltransferases
  • FLP recombinase