The first steps in the morphogenesis of the ovary of Drosophila melanogaster is terminal filament (TF) formation. TFs are stacks of eight to ten cells at the anterior tip of each ovariole (the oocyte-producing structure) in the fly ovary. TF precursor cells initially sit at the anterior of the ovary in a disorganised cluster, and then reorganise to form a precise number of stacks, each stack being composed of a precise number of cells. We are studying the genetic control of terminal filament formation, as a first step towards understanding the genetic basis of ovariole number.
Our preliminary data suggests that cells are capable of measuring the physical size of the structures they contribute to over distances of several cell diameters. This suggests that local cell-cell signalling may not be as important as long-range signalling across the field of cells in the developing ovary. We use a combination of mutant analysis, genetic mosaic analysis, and high-resolution imaging to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of this cell organisation phenomenon. |
