Human Molecular Genetics, 2002, Vol. 11, No. 10 1207-1214
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Retinal development in Drosophila: specifying the first neuron
Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, 615 Michael Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Received February 28, 2002; Accepted March 21, 2002
In vertebrates, a proneural basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor (Ath5, Atonal homolog 5) plays a crucial role in the specification of the first retinal neuron: the retinal ganglion cell (RGC). Math5 homozygous null mutant mice lack RGCs and have no optic nerve. Furthermore, the expression of the Ath5 protein is regulated to give a non-random dispersed pattern of RGCs. In Drosophila, retinal histogenesis is precisely coordinated and is associated with a progressive wave called the morphogenetic furrow. In the furrow, single precisely spaced cells are specified to become the first retinal neural cell type: the R8 photoreceptor cell. This Drosophila founder cell specification is coincident with and dependant upon the expression of the fly Ath5 ortholog: Atonal. Indeed, in both taxa, the process of founder cell specification may be viewed as the regulation of Atonal expression. It is now clear that, in flies, this regulation depends on the action of inductive and inhibitory signals. This review concentrates on the signaling mechanisms that produce this precise pattern of founder cells.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 404 727 8799; Fax: +1 404 727 4717; Email: kmoses{at}cellbio.emory.edu
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  N. Vereshchagina, M.-C. Ramel, E. Bitoun, and C. Wilson The protein phosphatase PP2A-B' subunit Widerborst is a negative regulator of cytoplasmic activated Akt and lipid metabolism in Drosophila J. Cell Sci., October 15, 2008; 121(20): 3383 - 3392. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. C. Miller, H. Seymour, C. King, and T. G. Herman Loss of seven-up from Drosophila R1/R6 photoreceptors reveals a stochastic fate choice that is normally biased by Notch Development, February 15, 2008; 135(4): 707 - 715. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N.-S. Moon, L. Di Stefano, and N. Dyson A Gradient of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Signaling Determines the Sensitivity of rbf1 Mutant Cells to E2F-Dependent Apoptosis Mol. Cell. Biol., October 15, 2006; 26(20): 7601 - 7615. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Kent, E. W. Bush, and J. E. Hooper Roadkill attenuates Hedgehog responses through degradation of Cubitus interruptus. Development, May 1, 2006; 133(10): 2001 - 2010. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. N. Kay, B. A. Link, and H. Baier Staggered cell-intrinsic timing of ath5 expression underlies the wave of ganglion cell neurogenesis in the zebrafish retina Development, June 1, 2005; 132(11): 2573 - 2585. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. A. Hutcheson, M. I. Hanson, K. B. Moore, T. T. Le, N. L. Brown, and M. L. Vetter bHLH-dependent and -independent modes of Ath5 gene regulation during retinal development Development, February 15, 2005; 132(4): 829 - 839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. I. Dorrell, E. Aguilar, C. Weber, and M. Friedlander Global Gene Expression Analysis of the Developing Postnatal Mouse Retina Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., March 1, 2004; 45(3): 1009 - 1019. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Fabian-Fine, P. Verstreken, P. R. Hiesinger, J. A. Horne, R. Kostyleva, Y. Zhou, H. J. Bellen, and I. A. Meinertzhagen Endophilin Promotes a Late Step in Endocytosis at Glial Invaginations in Drosophila Photoreceptor Terminals J. Neurosci., November 19, 2003; 23(33): 10732 - 10744. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|