Discovery of genes with highly restricted expression patterns in theDrosophilawing disc using DNA oligonucleotide microarrays

Abstract

The Drosophila wing disc is divided along the proximaldistal axis into regions giving rise to the body wall (proximal), wing hinge(central) and wing blade (distal). We applied DNA microarray analysis to discover genes with potential roles in the development of these regions. We identified a set of 94 transcripts enriched (two fold or greater) in the body wall and 56 transcripts enriched in the wing/hinge region. Transcripts that are known to have highly restricted expression patterns, such aspannier, twist and Bar-H1 (body wall) and knot,nubbin and Distal-less (wing/hinge), showed strong differential expression on the arrays. In situ hybridization for 50 previously uncharacterized genes similarly revealed that transcript enrichment identified by the array analysis was consistent with the observed spatial expression. There was a broad spectrum of patterns, in some cases suggesting that the genes could be targets of known signaling pathways. We show that three of these genes respond to wingless signaling. We also discovered genes likely to play specific roles in tracheal and myoblast cell types, as these cells are part of the body wall fragment. In summary, the identification of genes with restricted expression patterns using whole genome profiling suggests that many genes with potential roles in wing disc development remain to be characterized.

Hox gene Ultrabithorax regulates distinct sets of target genes at successive stages of Drosophila haltere morphogenesis

“…Most of the targets identified in our microarray analysis have not been studied thoroughly in the context of wing or haltere development, but some of these genes have been reported in microarray studies and genetic screens (31,32).…”

Detailed proteome mapping of newly emerged honeybee worker hemolymph and comparison with the red-eye pupal stage

“…In Drosophila , Idgfs stimulate the proliferation, polarization, and motility of imaginal disc cells in cooperation with insulin (Kawamura et al 1999). According to Butler et al (2003), Idgf4 is expressed in the peripodial membrane (primarily in dorsal cells) and, presumably, the secretion of Idgf4 influences the development of the columnar epithelium (Butler et al 2003). The constant concentration of Idgf4 indicated its equal need in the red-eye pupa and in the emerged worker hemolymph.…”

Mes2, a MADF‐containing transcription factor essential for Drosophila development

“…The gene was named mes2, based on its expression in the early mesoderm, and we shall henceforth refer to it by this name. mes2 has since been identified in several additional microarraybased screens that examined transcript levels in the wing imaginal disc (Butler et al, 2003), glia (Freeman et al, 2003), and the central nervous system (CNS) midline (Kearney et al, 2004).…”