Project description:The goal of this study was to examine RNA expression levels in the Drosophila larval eye and antennal discs and determine whether higher levels of transcription were correlated with the ability of transgenes to drive pairing with their homologous endogenous loci between chromosomes. Additionally, RNA expression levels were compared between the eye and antennal discs to determine whether increased insulator protein expression contributed to increased pairing in the eye disc.
Project description:The goal of this study was to examine chromosome topology in Drosophila larval eye and antennal discs by identifying topologically associating domains (TADs) across the genome. TADs were compared between the eye and antennal disc to determine whether they contribute to cell-type-specific homologous pairing and transvection.
Project description:The Drosophila eye is a powerful model system to study the dynamics of cell differentiation, cell state transitions, cell maturation, and pattern formation. However, a high-resolution single cell genomics resource that accurately profiles all major cell types of the larval eye disc and their spatiotemporal relationships is lacking. Here, we report transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility data for all known cell types in the developing eye. Photoreceptors appear as strands of cells that represent dynamic developmental timelines. Photoreceptor subtypes are transcriptionally distinct when they begin to differentiate, but then appear to assume a common transcriptome as they mature. We identify novel cell type maturation genes, enhancers, and potential regulators, as well as genes with distinct R3 or R4 photoreceptor specific expression. Finally, we observe that photoreceptor chromatin accessibility is more permissive than non-neuronal lens-secreting cone cells, which show a more restrictive chromatin profile. These single cell genomics atlases will greatly enhance the power of the Drosophila eye as a model system.
Project description:eyeless (ey) is one of the most critical transcription factors for initiating the entire eye development in Drosophila. However, the molecular mechanisms through which Ey regulates target genes and pathways have not been characterized at the genomic level. Using ChIP-Seq, we generated an endogenous Ey binding profile in Drosophila developing eyes. These data sets will serve as a valuable resource for future studies on Ey and eye development.
Project description:Coordinating cell proliferation and differentiation is essential during organogenesis. In Drosophila, the photoreceptor, pigment and support cells of the eye are specified in an orchestrated wave as the morphogenetic furrow passes across the eye imaginal disc. Cells anterior of the furrow are uncommitted to cell type and remain mitotically active, while most cells in the furrow arrest at G1 and adopt specified ommatidial fates. We used microarray expression analysis to monitor changes in transcription at the furrow and identified genes whose expression correlates with either proliferation or fate specification.
Project description:TheDrosophilaeye has been an important model to understand principles of differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and tissue morphogenesis. However, a single cell RNA sequence resource that captures gene expression dynamics from the initiation of differentiation to the specification of different cell types in the larval eye disc is lacking. Here, we report transcriptomic data from 13,000 cells that cover six developmental stages of the larval eye. Our data show cell clusters that correspond to all major cell types present in the eye disc ranging from the initiation of the morphogenetic furrow to the differentiation of each photoreceptor cell type as well as early cone cells. We identify dozens of cell type-specific genes whose function in different aspects of eye development have not been reported. These single cell data will greatly aid research groups studying different aspects of early eye development and will facilitate a deeper understanding of the larval eye as a model system.
Project description:Drosophila imaginal disc cells exhibit a remarkable ability to switch cell fates under various perturbations, a phenomenon known as transdetermination (TD). The winged eye (wge) gene induces eye-to-wing TD by its overexpression in eye imaginal discs using eye specific Gal4 driver (eyeless-Gal4). Gene network controlling this process, however, is largely unclear. Additionally, we identified that heterochromatin-related histone methyltransferase Su(var)3-9 is essential for wge-mediated TD. We used microarray to detail the global gene network underlying wge-mediated eye-to-wing TD, and the involvement of Su(var)3-9 in the gene network.
Project description:The kinase nmo is required for proper ommatidial rotation in the developing Drosophila compound eye. It has been suggested to regulate gene expression by phosphorylating transcription factors. We used microarray analysis to identify genes which expression is regulated by nmo during ommatidial rotation.