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  • Original Paper
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Control of development and immunity by Rel transcription factors in Drosophila

Oncogene volume 18, pages 6875–6887 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The Drosophila Rel/NF-κB transcription factors – Dorsal, Dif, and Relish – control several biological processes, including embryonic pattern formation, muscle development, immunity, and hematopoiesis. Molecular-genetic analysis of 12 mutations that cause embryonic dorsal/ventral patterning defects has defined the steps that control the formation of this axis. Regulated activation of the Toll receptor leads to the establishment of a gradient of nuclear Dorsal protein, which in turn governs the subdivision of the axis and specification of ventral, lateral and dorsal fates. Phenotypic analysis of dorsal-ventral embryonic mutants and the characterization of the two other fly Rel proteins, Dif and Relish, have shown that the intracellular portion of the Toll to Cactus pathway also controls the innate immune response in Drosophila. Innate immunity and hematopoiesis are regulated by analogous Rel/NF-κB-family pathways in mammals. The elucidation of the complex regulation and diverse functions of Drosophila Rel proteins underscores the relevance of basic studies in Drosophila.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Drs D Hultmark, E Drier and R Steward for communicating results prior to publication and to my colleagues for their insightful comments on sections of this manuscript. Research in my laboratory is supported by funds from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and PSC-CUNY.

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  1. Shubha Govind

    Present address: Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Functional Genomics, 133/2028A, 556 Morris Avenue, Summit, New Jersey, NJ 17901-1398, USA

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  1. Department of Biology, City College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, 138th Street and Convent Avenue, New York, 10031, NY, USA

    Shubha Govind

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Govind, S. Control of development and immunity by Rel transcription factors in Drosophila. Oncogene 18, 6875–6887 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1203223

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