Oxygen changes drive non-uniform scaling in Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis.

ABSTRACT: We previously demonstrated that, while changes in temperature produce dramatic shifts in the time elapsed during Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis, the relative timing of events within embryogenesis does not change. However, it was unclear if this uniform scaling is an intrinsic property of developing embryos, or if it is specific to thermal fluctuations. To investigate this, here we characterize the embryonic response to changes in oxygen concentration, which also impact developmental rate, using time-lapse imaging, and find it fundamentally different from the temperature response. Most notably, changes in oxygen levels drive developmental heterochrony, with the timing of several morphological processes showing distinct scaling behaviors. Gut formation is severely slowed by decreases 

SUBMITTER: Kuntz SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4670008 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature