Genetic Activities/Screening Approaches

Drosophila Migration Genes

Published Drosophila cell migration genes for primordial germ cells, hemocytes, the tracheal system, dorsal closure and border cells in development.

Contributors: Drs. Ruth Lehmann, Nirmal Lorensuhewa, Mariana Melani, Denise Montell, Michael Murray, Sara Ricardo, Rob Saint, Jessica Seifert, Daria Siekhaus, and Michelle Starz-Gaiano

If you would like to add a gene or another cell type to the table, please send an email to Denise Montell (dmontell@jhmi.edu).

Notes:

Germ cells -- embryonic primordial germ cells, also known as pole cells in Drosophila, migrate across the posterior midgut epithelium and then move away from the midline and toward the somatic gonadal mesoderm on either side of the embryo. Eventually these cells give rise to eggs in the female and sperm in the male.

Embryonic trachea -- approximately 80 cells in each half-segment of the embryo first invaginate to form a sac, then migrate to form multiple branches which then form interconnected tubes that ramify throughout the embryo allowing passive gas exchange.

Larval trachea -- the tracheal branches are extensively remodeled during late larval stages to give rise to the adult tracheal system. In particular, the dorsal air sac primordium branches off of the transverse connective. Both division and migration of the cells in the primordium contribute to the new structure.

Border cells -- the fruit fly ovary is composed of developing egg chambers, each of which is made up of ~650 epithelial follicle cells that surround 15 nurse cells and one oocyte. The border cell cluster is a group of four to eight migratory follicle cells surrounding two non-migratory polar cells. The border cell cluster originates at the anterior end of the egg chamber, invades in between the nurse cells, detaches from the follicle cell epithelium, and migrates about 150 micrometers down the center of the egg chamber, until they arrive at the oocyte. They then move about 20 microns dorsally along the oocyte border.

Dorsal closure -- approximately midway through embryogenesis the cells enclosing the embryo on the dorsal side, known as amnioserosa, begin to contract. Epidermal cells on either side of the amnioserosa migrate dorsally and form a supracellular actin cable

Embryonic hemocyte -- a group of cells that originate in the head region of the embryo and migrate along stereotyped pathways in order to disperse throughout the embryo. These cells differentiate as macrophages and engulf bacteria and other pathogens as well as dying cells.

Embryonic hemocyte to wound -- in addition to their stereotyped developmental migrations, hemocytes migrate to laser-induced wounds in the embryonic epithelium.

Embryonic mesoderm -- during gastrulation, cells invaginate along the ventral midline and then undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition as they spread out and migrate dorsally, forming the mesoderm

Embryonic endoderm -- arises as two populations of cells at the anterior and posterior ends of the blastoderm embryo. These are internalised, undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and then migrate towards each other, eventually fusing and undergoing a mesenchymal to epithelial transition to form the midgut.