Characterisation of two genes expressed during Drosophila oogenesis and embryogenesis

• Main Author: Lin, Shengyin
• Published: University of Edinburgh 2003
• Subjects: 591.35
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.653909

The interaction between somatic follicle cells and germline cells during oogenesis establishes the anterior/posterior and dorsal/ventral axes of the oocyte and future embryo. Identification of novel gene expression in groups of follicle cells at specific stages of oogenesis may therefore help us to understand pattern formation in <i>Drosophila </i>oogenesis. The novel gene <i>Z14/Dmbves</i> was identified as part of a GAL4/UAS enhancer trap screen. The <i>Z14/Dmbves</i> gene is similar to a gene encoding blood vessels/epicardial substance (bves) in Chicken and humans. We found that <i>Z14/Dmbves </i>is expressed in the nurse cell and all the follicle cells surrounding the oocyte except those in the anterior-dorsal and posterior regions, which receive the <i>gurken </i>(Grk) signal from the oocyte during polarity establishment. Further analysis indicated that the expression of <i>Z14/Dmbves</i> is repressed by the Grk signal. P-element mobilisation to generate mutants was undertaken but no mutants of <i>Z14</i>/<i>Dmbves</i> were obtained. Investigation of transgenic flies revealed that disruption of the function of <i>Z14/Dmbves </i>caused lethality to both embryos and larvae. Our data suggests that <i>Z14</i>/<i>Dmbves</i> might still be a lethal gene and is crucial for embryonic development. The <i>ntf-2</i> gene was identified as part of a P-element mobilization screen for generating mutants of <i>Z14/Dmbves.</i> We propose that <i>ntf-2</i> is essential for the nuclear translocation of the Dorsal protein, which is a crucial step in the establishment of dorsal-ventral patterning during <i>Drosophila </i>embryogenesis.