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The large Maf factor Traffic Jam controls gonad morphogenesis in Drosophila

Nature Cell Biology volume 5, pages 994–1000 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Interactions between somatic and germline cells are critical for the normal development of egg and sperm. Here we show that the gene traffic jam (tj) produces a soma-specific factor that controls gonad morphogenesis and is required for female and male fertility. tj encodes the only large Maf factor in Drosophila melanogaster, an orthologue of the atypical basic Leu zipper transcription factors c-Maf and MafB/Kreisler in vertebrates. Expression of tj occurs in somatic gonadal cells that are in direct contact with germline cells throughout development. In tj mutant gonads, somatic cells fail to inter-mingle and properly envelop germline cells, causing an early block in germ cell differentiation. In addition, tj mutant somatic cells show an increase in the level of expression for several adhesion molecules. We propose that tj is a critical modulator of the adhesive properties of somatic cells, facilitating germline–soma interactions that are essential for germ cell differentiation.

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Figure 1: Defects in soma and germline of adult tjeo2 mutant gonads.
Figure 2: Molecular analysis of tj.
Figure 3: Somatic expression of tj in embryonic gonads.
Figure 4: tj mutant somatic cells do not inter-mingle with germ cells in larval gonads.
Figure 5: tj mutant follicle cells overexpress adhesion molecules.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to T. Schüpbach, E. Koundakjian, B. Wakimoto, D. Lindsley, C. Zuker, A. Kiger and M. Fuller for traffic jam alleles and related information. We thank M. Arandjelovic for sharing unpublished results. We thank B. Ganetzky, A. Chiba, H. Oda and G. Boulianne for molecular reagents, P. Lasko, T. Uemura, and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank for antibodies, S. DiNardo, F. Laski, T. Kornberg and the Bloomington Stock Centre for fly stocks, and W. Ngo, S. Amin and A. Pirani for experimental assistance. We thank U. Tepass for critical comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (to D.G.).

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  1. Rita M. Avancini

    Present address: GPC Biotech Inc., 610 Lincoln Street, Waltham, MA 02451, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street, Toronto, M5S 3G5, Ontario, Canada

    Michelle A. Li, Jeffrey D. Alls, Rita M. Avancini, Karen Koo & Dorothea Godt

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Correspondence to Dorothea Godt.

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Li, M., Alls, J., Avancini, R. et al. The large Maf factor Traffic Jam controls gonad morphogenesis in Drosophila. Nat Cell Biol 5, 994–1000 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1058

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