0000000000384851
AUTHOR
Diana Cleppien
Comm Sorts Robo to Control Axon Guidance at the Drosophila Midline
AbstractAxon growth across the Drosophila midline requires Comm to downregulate Robo, the receptor for the midline repellent Slit. We show here that comm is required in neurons, not in midline cells as previously thought, and that it is expressed specifically and transiently in commissural neurons. Comm acts as a sorting receptor for Robo, diverting it from the synthetic to the late endocytic pathway. A conserved cytoplasmic LPSY motif is required for endosomal sorting of Comm in vitro and for Comm to downregulate Robo and promote midline crossing in vivo. Axon traffic at the CNS midline is thus controlled by the intracellular trafficking of the Robo guidance receptor, which in turn depends…
Notch and Numb are required for normal migration of peripheral glia in Drosophila
Abstract A prominent feature of glial cells is their ability to migrate along axons to finally wrap and insulate them. In the embryonic Drosophila PNS, most glial cells are born in the CNS and have to migrate to reach their final destinations. To understand how migration of the peripheral glia is regulated, we have conducted a genetic screen looking for mutants that disrupt the normal glial pattern. Here we present an analysis of two of these mutants: Notch and numb. Complete loss of Notch function leads to an increase in the number of glial cells. Embryos hemizygous for the weak NotchB-8X allele display an irregular migration phenotype and mutant glial cells show an increased formation of …