Control of stalk cell number and morphology. Antoine Borensztejn1, Anne-Marie Pret2, Kristi Wharton1. 1) Brown University, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry, Providence, RI; 2) CNRS, Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
The control of cell number is essential for the proper formation of organs during development. Once formed the maintenance of cells is key to the architecture and functioning of different tissues. During Drosophila oogenesis, each egg chamber is separated from the previous one by a single column of ~8 stalk cells. The number of stalk cells and the morphology of the stalk has been suggested to be under the control of apoptosis (Assa-Kunik et al. 2007), however the timing and regulation of the proposed apoptotic events is not understood. In this ongoing study, we have investigated the precise control of stalk cell number and the pathways implicated in this mechanism. Our previous work (Borensztejn et al. 2012) and that of Assa-Kunik et al. 2007 have shown that the Jak/Stat ligand, Upd, and signaling via the pathway effect stalk cell number. What is the precise role of apoptosis in regulating stalk cell number ? Do Jak/Stat and Notch pathways control this proposed stalk cell apoptosis ? Results will be presented that contribute to the overall understanding of the mechanisms controlling cell number and their contribution to shaping organ morphology.