Co-option of epidermal cells enables touch sensing.

The epidermis is equipped with specialized mechanosensory organs that enable the detection of tactile stimuli. Here, by examining the differentiation of the tactile bristles, mechanosensory organs decorating the Drosophila adult epidermis, we show that neighbouring epidermal cells are essential for touch perception. Each mechanosensory bristle signals to the surrounding epidermis to co-opt a single epidermal cell, which we named the F-Cell. Once specified, the F-Cell adopts a specialized morphology to ensheath each bristle. Functional assays reveal that adult mechanosensory bristles require association with the epidermal F-Cell for touch sensing. Our findings underscore the importance of resident epidermal cells in the assembly of functional touch-sensitive organs.

Cortical Cyclin A controls spindle orientation during asymmetric cell divisions in Drosophila.

The coordination between cell proliferation and cell polarity is crucial to orient the asymmetric cell divisions to generate cell diversity in epithelia. In many instances, the Frizzled/Dishevelled planar cell polarity pathway is involved in mitotic spindle orientation, but how this is spatially and temporally coordinated with cell cycle progression has remained elusive. Using Drosophila sensory organ precursor cells as a model system, we show that Cyclin A, the main Cyclin driving the transition to M-phase of the cell cycle, is recruited to the apical-posterior cortex in prophase by the Frizzled/Dishevelled complex. This cortically localized Cyclin A then regulates the orientation of the division by recruiting Mud, a homologue of NuMA, the well-known spindle-associated protein. The observed non-canonical subcellular localization of Cyclin A reveals this mitotic factor as a direct link between cell proliferation, cell polarity and spindle orientation.

A neural progenitor mitotic wave is required for asynchronous axon outgrowth and morphology.

Spatiotemporal mechanisms generating neural diversity are fundamental for understanding neural processes. Here, we investigated how neural diversity arises from neurons coming from identical progenitors. In the dorsal thorax of Drosophila, rows of mechanosensory organs originate from the division of sensory organ progenitor (SOPs). We show that in each row of the notum, an anteromedial located central SOP divides first, then neighbouring SOPs divide, and so on. This centrifugal wave of mitoses depends on cell-cell inhibitory interactions mediated by SOP cytoplasmic protrusions and Scabrous, a secreted protein interacting with the Delta/Notch complex. Furthermore, when this mitotic wave was reduced, axonal growth was more synchronous, axonal terminals had a complex branching pattern and fly behaviour was impaired. We show that the temporal order of progenitor divisions influences the birth order of sensory neurons, axon branching and impact on grooming behaviour. These data support the idea that developmental timing controls axon wiring neural diversity.

Shaping of Drosophila Neural Cell Lineages Through Coordination of Cell Proliferation and Cell Fate by the BTB-ZF Transcription Factor Tramtrack-69.

Cell diversity in multicellular organisms relies on coordination between cell proliferation and the acquisition of cell identity. The equilibrium between these two processes is essential to assure the correct number of determined cells at a given time at a given place. Using genetic approaches and correlative microscopy, we show that Tramtrack-69 (Ttk69, a Broad-complex, Tramtrack and Bric-à-brac - Zinc Finger (BTB-ZF) transcription factor ortholog of the human promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger factor) plays an essential role in controlling this balance. In the Drosophila bristle cell lineage, which produces the external sensory organs composed by a neuron and accessory cells, we show that ttk69 loss-of-function leads to supplementary neural-type cells at the expense of accessory cells. Our data indicate that Ttk69 (1) promotes cell cycle exit of newborn terminal cells by downregulating CycE, the principal cyclin involved in S-phase entry, and (2) regulates cell-fate acquisition and terminal differentiation, by downregulating the expression of hamlet and upregulating that of Suppressor of Hairless, two transcription factors involved in neural-fate acquisition and accessory cell differentiation, respectively. Thus, Ttk69 plays a central role in shaping neural cell lineages by integrating molecular mechanisms that regulate progenitor cell cycle exit and cell-fate commitment.

Escargot and Scratch regulate neural commitment by antagonizing Notch activity in Drosophila sensory organs.

During Notch (N)-mediated binary cell fate decisions, cells adopt two different fates according to the levels of N pathway activation: an Noff-dependent or an Non-dependent fate. How cells maintain these N activity levels over time remains largely unknown. We address this question in the cell lineage that gives rise to the Drosophila mechanosensory organs. In this lineage a primary precursor cell undergoes a stereotyped sequence of oriented asymmetric cell divisions and transits through two neural precursor states before acquiring a neuron identity. Using a combination of genetic and cell biology strategies, we show that Escargot and Scratch, two transcription factors belonging to the Snail superfamily, maintain Noff neural commitment by directly blocking the transcription of N target genes. We propose that Snail factors act by displacing proneural transcription activators from DNA binding sites. As such, Snail factors maintain the Noff state in neural precursor cells by buffering any ectopic variation in the level of N activity. Since Escargot and Scratch orthologs are present in other precursor cells, our findings are fundamental for understanding precursor cell fate acquisition in other systems.

G2 phase arrest prevents bristle progenitor self-renewal and synchronizes cell division with cell fate differentiation.

Developmentally regulated cell cycle arrest is a fundamental feature of neurogenesis, whose significance is poorly understood. During Drosophila sensory organ (SO) development, primary progenitor (pI) cells arrest in G2 phase for precisely defined periods. Upon re-entering the cell cycle in response to developmental signals, these G2-arrested precursor cells divide and generate specialized neuronal and non-neuronal cells. To study how G2 phase arrest affects SO lineage specification, we forced pI cells to divide prematurely. This produced SOs with normal neuronal lineages but supernumerary non-neuronal cell types because prematurely dividing pI cells generate a secondary pI cell that produces a complete SO and an external precursor cell that undergoes amplification divisions. pI cells are therefore able to undergo self-renewal before transit to a terminal mode of division. Regulation of G2 phase arrest thus serves a dual role in SO development: preventing progenitor self-renewal and synchronizing cell division with developmental signals. Cell cycle arrest in G2 phase temporally coordinates the precursor cell proliferation potential with terminal cell fate determination to ensure formation of organs with a normal set of sensory cells.

CycA is involved in the control of endoreplication dynamics in the Drosophila bristle lineage.

Endocycles, which are characterised by repeated rounds of DNA replication without intervening mitosis, are involved in developmental processes associated with an increase in metabolic cell activity and are part of terminal differentiation. Endocycles are currently viewed as a restriction of the canonical cell cycle. As such, mitotic cyclins have been omitted from the endocycle mechanism and their role in this process has not been specifically analysed. In order to study such a role, we focused on CycA, which has been described to function exclusively during mitosis in Drosophila. Using developing mechanosensory organs as model system and PCNA::GFP to follow endocycle dynamics, we show that (1) CycA proteins accumulate during the last period of endoreplication, (2) both CycA loss and gain of function induce changes in endoreplication dynamics and reduce the number of endocycles, and (3) heterochromatin localisation of ORC2, a member of the Pre-RC complex, depends on CycA. These results show for the first time that CycA is involved in endocycle dynamics in Drosophila. As such, CycA controls the final ploidy that cells reached during terminal differentiation. Furthermore, our data suggest that the control of endocycles by CycA involves the subnuclear relocalisation of pre-RC complex members. Our work therefore sheds new light on the mechanism underlying endocycles, implicating a process that involves remodelling of the entire cell cycle network rather than simply a restriction of the canonical cell cycle.

Laser microdissection of sensory organ precursor cells of Drosophila microchaetes.

BACKGROUND: In Drosophila, each external sensory organ originates from the division of a unique precursor cell (the sensory organ precursor cell or SOP). Each SOP is specified from a cluster of equivalent cells, called a proneural cluster, all of them competent to become SOP. Although, it is well known how SOP cells are selected from proneural clusters, little is known about the downstream genes that are regulated during SOP fate specification. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In order to better understand the mechanism involved in the specification of these precursor cells, we combined laser microdissection, toisolate SOP cells, with transcriptome analysis, to study their RNA profile. Using this procedure, we found that genes that exhibit a 2-fold or greater expression in SOPs versus epithelial cells were mainly associated with Gene Ontology (GO) terms related with cell fate determination and sensory organ specification. Furthermore, we found that several genes such as pebbled/hindsight, scabrous, miranda, senseless, or cut, known to be expressed in SOP cells by independent procedures, are particularly detected in laser microdissected SOP cells rather than in epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results confirm the feasibility and the specificity of our laser microdissection based procedure. We anticipate that this analysis will give new insight into the selection and specification of neural precursor cells.

Notch and Prospero repress proliferation following cyclin E overexpression in the Drosophila bristle lineage.

Understanding the mechanisms that coordinate cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, and cell differentiation is essential to address the problem of how "normal" versus pathological developmental processes take place. In the bristle lineage of the adult fly, we have tested the capacity of post-mitotic cells to re-enter the cell cycle in response to the overexpression of cyclin E. We show that only terminal cells in which the identity is independent of Notch pathway undergo extra divisions after CycE overexpression. Our analysis shows that the responsiveness of cells to forced proliferation depends on both Prospero, a fate determinant, and on the level of Notch pathway activity. Our results demonstrate that the terminal quiescent state and differentiation are regulated by two parallel mechanisms acting simultaneously on fate acquisition and cell cycle progression.

S-phase favours notch cell responsiveness in the Drosophila bristle lineage.

We have studied cell sensitivity to Notch pathway signalling throughout the cell cycle. As model system, we used the Drosophila bristle lineage where at each division N plays a crucial role in fate determination. Using in vivo imaging, we followed this lineage and activated the N-pathway at different moments of the secondary precursor cell cycle. We show that cells are more susceptible to respond to N-signalling during the S-phase. Thus, the period of heightened sensitivity coincided with the period of the S-phase. More importantly, modifications of S-phase temporality induced corresponding changes in the period of the cell's reactivity to N-activation. Moreover, S-phase abolition was correlated with a decrease in the expression of tramtrack, a downstream N-target gene. Finally, N cell responsiveness was modified after changes in chromatin packaging. We suggest that high-order chromatin structures associated with the S-phase create favourable conditions that increase the efficiency of the transcriptional machinery with respect to N-target genes.

The Ral/exocyst effector complex counters c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent apoptosis in Drosophila melanogaster.

Ral GTPase activity is a crucial cell-autonomous factor supporting tumor initiation and progression. To decipher pathways impacted by Ral, we have generated null and hypomorph alleles of the Drosophila melanogaster Ral gene. Ral null animals were not viable. Reduced Ral expression in cells of the sensory organ lineage had no effect on cell division but led to postmitotic cell-specific apoptosis. Genetic epistasis and immunofluorescence in differentiating sensory organs suggested that Ral activity suppresses c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and induces p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation. HPK1/GCK-like kinase (HGK), a MAP kinase kinase kinase kinase that can drive JNK activation, was found as an exocyst-associated protein in vivo. The exocyst is a Ral effector, and the epistasis between mutants of Ral and of msn, the fly ortholog of HGK, suggest the functional relevance of an exocyst/HGK interaction. Genetic analysis also showed that the exocyst is required for the execution of Ral function in apoptosis. We conclude that in Drosophila Ral counters apoptotic programs to support cell fate determination by acting as a negative regulator of JNK activity and a positive activator of p38 MAP kinase. We propose that the exocyst complex is Ral executioner in the JNK pathway and that a cascade from Ral to the exocyst to HGK would be a molecular basis of Ral action on JNK.

Cell cycle and cell-fate determination in Drosophila neural cell lineages.

"Normal" development requires a finely tuned equilibrium between cell differentiation and cell proliferation. Important issues in development include whether the cell cycle controls the cell-fate determination and whether cell identity in turn regulates cell-cycle progression. Although, these issues are of general biological relevance, stereotyped Drosophila neural lineages are particularly suited to address these questions and have provided insights into the links between cell-cycle progression and cell-fate specification.

Lethal giant larvae controls the localization of notch-signaling regulators numb, neuralized, and Sanpodo in Drosophila sensory-organ precursor cells.

Asymmetric distribution of fate determinants is a fundamental mechanism underlying the acquisition of distinct cell fates during asymmetric division. In Drosophila neuroblasts, the apical DmPar6/DaPKC complex inhibits Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) to promote the basal localization of fate determinants. In contrast, in the sensory precursor (pI) cells that divide asymmetrically with a planar polarity, Lgl inhibits Notch signaling in the anterior pI daughter cell, pIIb, by a yet-unknown mechanism. We show here that Lgl promotes the cortical recruitment of Partner of Numb (Pon) and regulates the asymmetric distribution of the fate determinants Numb and Neuralized during the pI cell division. Analysis of Pon-GFP and Histone2B-mRFP distribution in two-color movies confirmed that Lgl regulates Pon localization. Moreover, posterior DaPKC restricts Lgl function to the anterior cortex at mitosis. Thus, Lgl functions similarly in neuroblasts and in pI cells. We also show that Lgl promotes the acquisition of the pIIb cell fate by inhibiting the plasma membrane localization of Sanpodo and thereby preventing the activation of Notch signaling in the anterior pI daughter cell. Thus, Lgl regulates cell fate by controlling Pon cortical localization, asymmetric localization of Numb and Neuralized, and plasma-membrane localization of Sandopo.

Cell cycle diversity involves differential regulation of Cyclin E activity in the Drosophila bristle cell lineage.

In the Drosophila bristle lineage, five differentiated cells arise from a precursor cell after a rapid sequence of asymmetric cell divisions (one every 2 hours). We show that, in mitotic cells, this rapid cadence of cell divisions is associated with cell cycles essentially devoid of the G1-phase. This feature is due to the expression of Cyclin E that precedes each cell division, and the differential expression of the S-transition negative regulator, Dacapo. Thus, apart from endocycles (G/S), which occurred in two out of five terminal cells, two other cell cycles coexist in this lineage: (1) an atypical cell cycle (S/G2/M), in which the S-phase is initiated during the preceding telophase; and (2) a canonical cell cycle (G1/S/G2/M) with a brief G1 phase. These two types of cell cycle result from either the absence or very transient expression of Dap, respectively. Finally, we show that the fate determinant factor, Tramtrack, downregulates Cyclin E expression and is probably involved in the exit of the cells from the cell cycle.

Mother-daughter precursor cell fate transformation after Cdc2 down-regulation in the Drosophila bristle lineage.

The Drosophila bristle lineage is an excellent system in which to study how cell cycle and fate determination are synchronized in invariant cell lineages. In this model, five different cells arise from a single precursor cell, pI, after four asymmetric cell divisions. Cell diversity is achieved by the asymmetric segregation of cell determinants, such as Numb and Neuralized (Neur), resulting in differential activation of the Notch (N) pathway. We show that down-regulation of Cdc2, by over-expressing Tribbles, Dwee1, and Dmyt1 (three negative regulators of Cdc2) or by using thermo-sensitive Cdc2 mutant flies, delayed pI mitosis, and altered the polarity and the number of subsequent cell divisions. These modifications were associated with a mother-daughter cell fate transformation as the pI cell acquired the identity of the secondary precursor cell, pIIb. This type of change in cell identity only occurred when the N signaling pathway was inactive since ectopic N signaling transformed pI to pIIa-progeny fate. These transformations in cell identity suggest that, although synchronized, cell cycle and fate determination are independent phenomena in the bristle lineage.

The glial cell undergoes apoptosis in the microchaete lineage of Drosophila.

Apoptosis plays a major role in vertebrate and invertebrate development. The adult Drosophila thoracic microchaete is a mechanosensory organ whose development has been extensively studied as a model of how cell division and cell determination intermingle. This sensory organ arises from a cell lineage that produces a glial cell and four other cells that form the organ. In this study, using an in vivo approach as well as fixed material, we show that the glial cell undergoes nucleus fragmentation shortly after birth. Fragmentation was blocked after overexpression of the caspase inhibitor p35 or removal of the pro-apoptotic genes reaper, hid and grim, showing that the glial cell undergoes apoptosis. Moreover, it seems that fragments are eliminated from the epithelium by mobile macrophages. Forcing survival of the glial cells induces precocious axonal outgrowth but does not affect final axonal patterning and connectivity. However, under these conditions, glial cells do not fragment but leave the epithelium by a mechanism that is reminiscent of cell competition. Finally, we present evidences showing that glial cells are committed to apoptosis independently of gcm and prospero expression. We suggest that apoptosis is triggered by a cell autonomous mechanism.