The diaphanous gene of Drosophila interacts antagonistically with multiple wing hairs and plays a key role in wing hair morphogenesis.

ABSTRACT: The Drosophila wing is covered by an array of distally pointing hairs that has served as a key model system for studying planar cell polarity (PCP). The adult cuticular hairs are formed in the pupae from cell extensions that contain extensive actin filaments and microtubules. The importance of the actin cytoskeleton for hair growth and morphogenesis is clear from the wide range of phenotypes seen in mutations in well-known actin regulators. Formin proteins promote the formation of long actin filaments of the sort thought to be important for hair growth. We report here that the formin encoding diaphanous (dia) gene plays a key role in hair morphogenesis. Both loss of function mutations and the expression of a constitutively active Dia led to cells forming both morphologically abnormal hairs

SUBMITTER: Lu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4346269 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature