A systematic screen for tube morphogenesis and branching genes in the Drosophila tracheal system.

ABSTRACT: Many signaling proteins and transcription factors that induce and pattern organs have been identified, but relatively few of the downstream effectors that execute morphogenesis programs. Because such morphogenesis genes may function in many organs and developmental processes, mutations in them are expected to be pleiotropic and hence ignored or discarded in most standard genetic screens. Here we describe a systematic screen designed to identify all Drosophila third chromosome genes (∼40% of the genome) that function in development of the tracheal system, a tubular respiratory organ that provides a paradigm for branching morphogenesis. To identify potentially pleiotropic morphogenesis genes, the screen included analysis of marked clones of homozygous mutant tracheal cells in heterozygous an

SUBMITTER: Ghabrial AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3131284 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature