TWO NEW GENES INVOLVED IN WG SIGNALING

Wnt基因是一个分泌信号分子家族， 与肿瘤发生和发展有关。果蝇的同源基因 小鼠Wnt-1，wingless（wg），最初被鉴定为一个基因， 在成虫翅膀的发育过程中随后，基因筛选已经确定 在胚胎发育过程中导致致死性的wg等位基因。分析 在胚胎和成虫发育过程中wg功能的变化 表明Wg参与多种发育事件。这些 包括胚胎分割、中肠图案、翅膀图案 成虫盘腹侧细胞命运的边缘和特化。 旨在确定分子事件的生物化学方法 与Wg信令相关联的信息很少。的确， 目前关于Wnt蛋白质 在果蝇中进行的遗传分析中得出了一个新的结果， 发信号。为了确定四个基因，豪猪（porc），蓬乱（dsh），zeste 参与wg信号传导的白色3/shaggy（zw 3）和armadillo（arm）具有 被基因识别。 该提案的目标是描述这一问题的两个新组成部分， 已经从新的母体的遗传筛选中鉴定出的途径 效应突变体。这些分析将有助于更好地了解 参与Wg信号转导的分子事件， 应该提供更多的Wnt信号的见解。

The Wnt genes are a family of secreted signaling molecules that have been implicated in oncogenesis and development. The Drosophila homolog of mouse Wnt-1, wingless (wg), was initially identified as a gene involved in adult wing development. Subsequently, genetic screens have identified alleles of wg that cause lethality during embryonic development. Analysis of wg function during embryonic as well as imaginal development have demonstrated that Wg is involved in multiple developmental events. These include embryonic segmentation, midgut patterning, patterning of the wing margin and specification of ventral cell fates in the imaginal discs. Biochemical approaches designed to determine the molecular events associated with Wg signaling have yielded little information. Indeed, most of the current knowledge of the mechanism by which Wnt proteins operate has come out from genetic analysis conducted in Drosophila on Wg signaling. To date four genes, porcupine (porc), dishevelled (dsh), zeste white 3/shaggy (zw3) and armadillo (arm), involved in wg signaling have been identified genetically. The goal of this proposal is to characterize two new components of this pathway that have been identified from genetic screens for novel maternal effect mutants. These analyses will lead to a better understanding of the molecular events involved in Wg signal transduction and as a result should provide additional insights into Wnt signaling.