Cell sorting at D/V compartment boundary

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The partitioning of tissues into groups of non-intermingling sets of cells, termed compartments, is important for growth and patterning during animal development. In Drosophila, the developing wing is subdivided initially by boundaries into anterior and posterior compartments, and subsequently also into dorsal and ventral compartments. Our recent work has suggested that the anteroposterior compartment boundary is maintained by a local increase in mechanical tension on cell boundaries where the two cell populations interface. Here, we propose to address the following two questions. First, is an increased mechanical tension a common feature of compartment boundaries? Second, how is mechanical tension locally increased along compartment boundaries? We will address both question in the context of the dorsoventral compartment boundary. We will measure mechanical tension by analyzing the local relaxation of the tissue in response to laser ablating individual cell boundaries. The molecular mechanisms regulating mechanical tension will be addressed by analyzing signaling pathways and adhesion molecules important for wing development. This project promises to gain new insights into the physical and molecular mechanisms that underlie cell sorting during animal development.