caudal

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Embryonic

See the embryonic expression pattern of cad at the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project Patterns of Gene Expression Site

CAD protein is detected beginning with the nuclear division cycles 6 or 7, just prior to the formation of the syncytial blastoderm. Most maternal cad transcripts are produced by nurse cells and are subsequently deposited in the oocyte. caudal transcripts remain equally distributed in the embryo. By the 13th zygotic cleavage CAD protein and transcript assumes a linear gradient with the highest levels found in the posterior region. Transcripts move from anterior to posterior. During nuclear elongation most of the transcripts move to the dorsal side, but there is some ventral localization as well. By the terminal stages of cellularization, maternal transcripts disappear and a stripe of zygotic cad accumulates in the posterior. CAD protein originating from maternal transcripts becomes localized to pole cells.

Zygotic cad is expressed in the posterior end of the germ band [Image] in the anlagen for terminal abdominal structures and hindgut. In stage 12 germ-band extended embryos, cad distribution is limited to parasegment 15 and surrounds the presumptive anal pads. Subsequently, two regions of CAD staining cells appear posterior to the anal pads. These patterns share some features with the domains of Abd-B containing cells, but Abd-B is not expressed posterior to anal pads where CAD-containing cells stain (Kuhn, 1995). At the end of embryogenesis (after germ-band retraction), cad is expressed in cells of the posterior midgut, Malpighian tubules, hindgut and posterior epidermal cells (Macdonald, 1986, Mlodzik 1985, 1987a).

The genital disc of Drosophila, which gives rise to the genitalia and analia of adult flies, is formed by cells from different embryonic segments. To study the organization of this disc, the expressions of segment polarity and homeotic genes were investigated. The organization of the embryonic genital primordium and the requirement of the engrailed and invected genes in the adult terminalia were also analysed. The three primordia, the female and male genitalia plus the analia, are composed of an anterior and a posterior compartment. In some aspects, each of the three primordia resemble other discs: the expression of genes such as wingless and decapentaplegic in each anterior compartment is similar to that seen in leg discs; the absence of engrailed and invected causes duplications of anterior regions, as occurs in wing discs. The absence of lineage restrictions in some regions of the terminalia and the expression of segment polarity genes in the embryonic genital disc suggest that this model of compartmental organization evolves, at least in part, as the disc grows. The expression of homeotic genes suggests a parasegmental organization of the genital disc, although these genes may also change their expression patterns during larval development (Casares, 1997).

Mutations in Abd-B transform female genitalia into abdomen, suggesting that the activity of Abd-B is a prerequisite for the specification of the terminalia by the sex-determing genes. abd-A is expressed only in female genital discs, in the region corresponding to the female genital primordium, particularly in the prospective internal female genitalia. abd-A expression is coincident with engrailed in the central region of the female genital primordium engrailed band. Abd-B transcripts are located in the genital disc. The Abd-B protein is present in the male and female primordia in both male and female discs, leaving unstained the region where the analia map. Abd-B expression is coincident with en bands 1 and 2. In female discs, Abd-B m transcript is present only in the female genital primordium: transcript levels are strong in the prospective external genitalia and faint in the prospective internal genitalia. In the male disc, only the repressed male primordium is labelled. Abd-B r transcript is expressed in the repressed male primordium of female discs and the male genetal primordium of male discs. caudal is located in the analia primordium of the genital disc, overlapping with the third engrailed band. However, caudal and enoverlap in only a few, dorsally located, epidermal nuclei of stage 14 embryos. This overlap is not seen in the ventrally located embryonic genital disc where caudal expression is observed in its posterior region. This suggests that en expression in anal primordium of mature genital discs appears during larval development. The perianal ring corresponds to the terminal band of en, and the co-expression of en and cad is maintained from the third instar disc until the adult stage (Casares, 1997)

Larval

In third instar larval, transcripts appear in Malpighian tubules and posterior midgut and genital disc (Mlodzik 1987a).

Effects of Mutation or Deletion

cad mutants lack organs of the tail including anal tufts and anal sense organs, and portions of anal pads. When cad maternal component is also missing, deletions are observed in even numbered segments, with most of A8 and A10 deleted and replaced by small sclerotized tissue resembling mouth hooks. This can be interpreted to mean that cad is required for Abd-B function, that is, cad acts through Abd-B and is responsible for ventral suppression (Macdonald, 1986 and Kuhn, 1995).

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date revised: 30 May 2008

 

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