Live Imaging of Border Cell Migration in Drosophila

To investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the temporal and spatial control of cell movements during development, we have been studying the migration of a small group of follicle cells, called the border cells, in the Drosophila ovary. Timely initiation of border cell migration requires the product of the slow border cells (slbo) locus, which encodes the Drosophila homolog of the transcription factor C/EBP. Here we report evidence that one target of C/EBP in the control of border cell migration is the FGF receptor homolog encoded by the breathless (btl) locus. btl expression in the ovary was border cell-specific, beginning just prior to the migration, and this expression was reduced in slbo mutants. btl mutations dominantly enhanced the border cell migration defects found in weak slbo alleles. Furthermore, C/EBP-independent btl expression was able to rescue the migration defects of hypomorphic slbo alleles. Purified Drosophila C/EBP bound eight sites in the btl 5′ flanking region by DNAse I footprinting. Taken together these results suggest that btl is a key, direct target for C/EBP in the regulation of border cell migration.

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Jing: a downstream target of slbo required for developmental control of border cell migration

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.128.3.321 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 128 (3) ◽

pp. 321-330 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Y. Liu ◽

D.J. Montell

Keyword(s):

Cell Migration ◽

Leucine Zipper ◽

Inducible Promoter ◽

Regulatory Sequence ◽

Border Cells ◽

Border Cell ◽

Downstream Target ◽

Border Cell Migration ◽

Factor C ◽

Drosophila Ovary

Epithelial to mesenchymal transitions and cell migration are important features of embryonic development and tumor metastasis. We are employing a systematic genetic approach to study the border cells in the Drosophila ovary, as a simple model for these cellular behaviors. Previously we found that expression of the basic-region/leucine zipper transcription factor, C/EBP, is required for the border cells to initiate their migration. Here we report the identification of a second nuclear factor, named JING (which means ‘still’), that is required for initiation of border cell migration. The jing locus was identified in a screen for mutations that cause border cell migration defects in mosaic clones. The jing mutant phenotype resembles that of slbo mutations, which disrupt the Drosophila C/EBP gene, but is distinct from other classes of border cell migration mutants. Expression of a jing-lacZ reporter in border cells requires C/EBP. Moreover, expression of jing from a heat-inducible promoter rescues the border cell migration defects of hypomorphic slbo mutants. The JING protein is most closely related to a mouse protein, AEBP2, which was identified on the basis of its ability to bind a small regulatory sequence within the adipocyte AP2 gene to which mammalian C/EBP also binds. We propose that the need to coordinate cell differentiation with nutritional status may be the link between mammalian adipocytes and Drosophila border cells that led to the conservation of C/EBP and AEBP2.

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Spatial restriction of receptor tyrosine kinase activity through a polarized endocytic cycle controls border cell migration

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1010795108 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 107 (52) ◽

pp. 22558-22563 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

G. Assaker ◽

D. Ramel ◽

S. K. Wculek ◽

M. Gonzalez-Gaitan ◽

G. Emery

Keyword(s):

Cell Migration ◽

Tyrosine Kinase ◽

Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽

Kinase Activity ◽

Tyrosine Kinase Activity ◽

Border Cell ◽

Border Cell Migration

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A role for the chaperone Hsp70 in the regulation of border cell migration in the Drosophila ovary

Mechanisms of Development ◽

10.1016/j.mod.2008.07.006 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 125 (11-12) ◽

pp. 1048-1058 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Laura Cobreros ◽

Ana Fernández-Miñán ◽

Carlos M. Luque ◽

Acaimo González-Reyes ◽

María D. Martín-Bermudo

Keyword(s):

Cell Migration ◽

Border Cell ◽

Border Cell Migration ◽

Drosophila Ovary ◽

Chaperone Hsp70

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