587A Poster - 08. Patterning, morphogenesis and organogenesis
Thursday April 07, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Authors:
Cindy Reinger; Michèle Sickmann; Markus Affolter; Martin Müller

Affiliation: Universitiy of Basel

Keywords:
k. gut; e. enhancers

The apterous (ap) gene codes for a transcription factor belonging to the LIM-homeodomain family. ap is best known for its role in the patterning of the adult wing where it determines the identity of cells in the dorsal compartment. We have previously shown that the expression of ap in the wing relies on two tissue-specific enhancers, apE and apDV. The phenotypic consequences of an apE deletion are viable and fertile flies devoid of wings, which can be maintained as a homozygous stock. True ap null alleles also produce wingless adults. However, and in contrast to ΔapE, such flies also show the precocious adult death syndrome. This condition had attracted some interest ~40-60 years ago from investigators like King, Butterworth and Wilson. They reported that the syndrome correlates with female sterility, abnormal adipose tissue and adult death within 72 to 96 hrs after eclosion. Among the three, the latter phenotype is the most obvious and striking: ap null flies readily hatch in good numbers and are active. But after about one day, they become lethargic and die within the next 72 hrs. A model for the comprehensive explanation of the syndrome and the connection between the individual disorders is still missing.
In the course of our studies on the ap locus, we have recently started to address the genetic and cellular basis of the precocious adult death syndrome. We will present an overview of our initial results.