The cell adhesion molecules Echinoid and Friend of Echinoid coordinate cell adhesion and cell signaling to regulate the fidelity of ommatidial rotation in the Drosophila eye.

ABSTRACT: Directed cellular movements are a universal feature of morphogenesis in multicellular organisms. Differential adhesion between the stationary and motile cells promotes these cellular movements to effect spatial patterning of cells. A prominent feature of Drosophila eye development is the 90 degrees rotational movement of the multicellular ommatidial precursors within a matrix of stationary cells. We demonstrate that the cell adhesion molecules Echinoid (Ed) and Friend of Echinoid (Fred) act throughout ommatidial rotation to modulate the degree of ommatidial precursor movement. We propose that differential levels of Ed and Fred between stationary and rotating cells at the initiation of rotation create a permissive environment for cell movement, and that uniform levels in these two populatio

SUBMITTER: Fetting JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2739146 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature