Two temporal functions of Glass: Ommatidium patterning and photoreceptor differentiation.

ABSTRACT: Much progress has been made in elucidating the molecular networks required for specifying retinal cells, including photoreceptors, but the downstream mechanisms that maintain identity and regulate differentiation remain poorly understood. Here, we report that the transcription factor Glass has a dual role in establishing a functional Drosophila eye. Utilizing conditional rescue approaches, we confirm that persistent defects in ommatidium patterning combined with cell death correlate with the overall disruption of eye morphology in glass mutants. In addition, we reveal that Glass exhibits a separable role in regulating photoreceptor differentiation. In particular, we demonstrate the apparent loss of glass mutant photoreceptors is not only due to cell death but also a failure of the survivin

SUBMITTER: Liang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4875859 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature