Search

Apoptotic cell death in wing imaginal discs takes place in single cells or small clusters of neighboring cells. These cells are distributed throughout the anlage at early stages and in recognizable territories at late larval and pupal stages. Apoptotic cells remain in the epithelium 2-4 h, prior to being engulfed in place by hemolymph cells. Experimentally induced apoptosis in single cells or territories is accompanied by nonautonomous death of adjacent cells and of cells further away in adjacent territories. These effects are followed by changes in cell proliferation in both territories. Apogenetic mosaics in mutant discs show cell death throughout the anlage. Apoptosis provides a mechanism, in addition to cell proliferation control, for matching territories with different positional values or different genetic specifications.

In metamorphosing wing discs, progression through the cell cycle takes place, as in larval discs, in nonclonally derived clusters of cells synchronized in the same cell cycle stage. Contrary to early discs, there are temporal and spatial heterogeneities in cell proliferation associated with wing margin, vein, intervein, and middle intervein territories. Within these territories, there are no indications of a wave progression of the cell cycle. Mitotic orientations are, as in early discs, at random but there is a preferential allocation of postmitotic cells along the proximodistal axis, thus explaining the elongated shape of the resulting clones along this axis. Shapes of clones in mature discs and in evaginated wings are similar, thus excluding major morphogenetic movements during evagination. After the proliferative period, all the cells are arrested in G1 phase. The final number of cells of the wing is fixed independently of experimental perturbations that alter the cell division schedule. These results are discussed in the context of a model of wing morphogenesis.

The pattern of cell proliferation in the Drosophila imaginal wing primordium is spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Direct visualization of cells in S, G2, and mitosis phases of the cell cycle reveals several features invariant throughout development. The fraction of cells in the disc in the different cell cycle stages is constant, the majority remaining in G1. Cells in the different phases of the cell cycle mainly appear in small synchronic clusters that are nonclonally derived but result from changing local cell-cell interactions. Cluster synchronization occurs before S and in the G2/M phases. Rates of cell division are neither constant nor clonal features. Cell cycle progression is linear rather than concentric. Clusters appear throughout the disc but with symmetries related to presumptive wing patterns, compartment boundaries, and vein clonal restrictions.

In the presence of Escherichia coli ribosomes and elongation factor EF) Tu, 2'(3')-O-L-phenylalanyladenosine (AdoPhe), the 3'-terminal portion of Phe-tRNAPhe, promotes the hydrolysis of GTP. The reaction requires the presence of both 30S and 50S ribosomal subunits and of proteins L7/L12 on the 50S subunit, is unaffected by mRNA [poly(uridylic acid)], and is strongly stimulated by EF-Ts. It is proposed that the AdoPhe-dependent GTP hydrolysis, like that promoted by aminoacyl-tRNA, is mediated by a ternary complex with EF-Tu and GTP; however, in contrast to aminoacyl-tRNA, AdoPhe is probably not retained by ribosomes after GTP hydrolysis. Phe-tRNAPhe or N-acetyl-Phe-tRNAPhe bound to the ribosomal acceptor site do not inhibit, but even stimulate, GTP hydrolysis by AdoPhe.EF-Tu.GTP. Thus, the binding site for EF-Tu on the ribosome is probably available for interaction with AdoPhe.EF-Tu.GTP regardless of whether the nearby acceptor site is vacant of occupied with aminoacyl-tRNA or peptidyl-tRNA. The results demonstrate the critical role of the 3'-terminal region of aminoacyl-tRNA in activating the EF-Tu- plus ribosome-dependent GTPase.