Article abstract
Nature Cell Biology 11, 569 - 579 (2009)
Published online: 6 April 2009 | doi:10.1038/ncb1863
Border-cell migration requires integration of spatial and temporal signals by the BTB protein Abrupt
Anna C.-C. Jang1,3, Yu-Chiuan Chang1,3, Jianwu Bai2 & Denise Montell1
Abstract
During development, elaborate patterns of cell differentiation and movement must occur in the correct locations and at the proper times. Developmental timing has been studied less than spatial pattern formation, and the mechanisms integrating the two are poorly understood. Border-cell migration in the Drosophila ovary occurs specifically at stage 9. Timing of the migration is regulated by the steroid hormone ecdysone, whereas spatial patterning of the migratory population requires localized activity of the JAK–STAT pathway. Ecdysone signalling is patterned spatially as well as temporally, although the mechanisms are not well understood. In stage 9 egg chambers, ecdysone signalling is highest in anterior follicle cells including the border cells. We identify the gene abrupt as a repressor of ecdysone signalling and border-cell migration. Abrupt protein is normally lost from border-cell nuclei during stage 9, in response to JAK–STAT activity. This contributes to the spatial pattern of the ecdysone response. Abrupt attenuates ecdysone signalling by means of a direct interaction with the basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) domain of the P160 ecdysone receptor coactivator Taiman (Tai). Taken together, these findings provide a molecular mechanism by which spatial and temporal cues are integrated.
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2185, USA.
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, Massachusetts 02175, USA.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Denise Montell1 e-mail: dmontell@jhmi.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Breaking a temporal barrier: signalling crosstalk regulates the initiation of border cell migrationNature Cell Biology News and Views (01 May 2009)
Migration on the borderlineNature Cell Biology News and Views (01 Feb 2001)
RESEARCH
Two distinct modes of guidance signalling during collective migration of border cellsNature Letters to Editor (19 Jul 2007)
See all 6 matches for Research
