Abstract
Drosophila proprioceptors (chordotonal organs) are structured as a linear array of four lineage-related cells: a neuron, a glial cell, and two accessory cells, called cap and ligament, between which the neuron is stretched. To function properly as stretch receptors, chordotonal organs must be stably anchored at both edges. The cap cells are anchored to the cuticle through specialized lineage-related attachment cells. However, the mechanism by which the ligament cells at the other edge of the organ attach is not known. Here, we report the identification of specialized attachment cells that anchor the ligament cells of pentascolopidial chordotonal organs (lch5) to the cuticle. The ligament attachment cells are recruited by the approaching ligament cells upon reaching their attachment site, through an EGFR-dependent mechanism. Molecular characterization of lch5 attachment cells demonstrated that they share significant properties with Drosophila tendon cells and with mammalian proprioceptive organs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 241-250 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Developmental Cell |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We wish to thank B. Shilo, G. Morata, U. Gaul, T. Kaufman, A. Giangrande, E. Bier, B. Hassan, P. Fisher, R. Renkawitz-Pohl, the Bloomington Stock Center, and the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank at the University of Iowa for sending us antibodies, probes, and fly strains; E. Ivkin for maintaining our fly stocks; B. Shilo for helpful discussions in the course of this work; and Z. Paroush for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by a Research Career Development Award to A.S. from the Israel Cancer Research Fund and a grant (No. 219/00) from the Israel Science Foundation. The research was performed in the Dr. Rebecca Chutick and Dr. Lillian Chutick Research and Teaching Center in the Genetics of Human Cancer.