Mechanism and evolution of developmental robustness against perturbation of the BICOID morphogen in Drosophila embryo

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The maternal effect gene bicoid (bcd) serves as a morphogen and establishes AP axis in Drosophila. Whereas increased dosage of bcd causes enlargement of prospective head region in early embryogenesis, the adults have normal head size. Excessive cell death contributes to reduce the expanded head region; however, nothing is known about what triggers cell death and what kinds of genes are involved in the repair. From genetic screening and microarray experiments, we identified a candidate gene responsible for the repair, which is also involved in the response to irradiation-induced DNA damage.