Dissection of the Torso signal transduction pathway in Drosophila

Molecular Reproduction and Development
N PerrimonL A Perkins

Abstract

Cell fate choice at the anterior and posterior embryonic termini of the Drosophila embryo requires the activation of a signal transduction pathway regulated by the receptor tyrosine kinase Torso. When Torso, which is uniformly distributed in the egg cell membrane, becomes activated locally at the termini, it triggers a phosphorylation cascade that culminates with localized expression of the transcription factors, tailless and huckebein. Expression of tailless and huckebein in turn determines terminal cell fates. Several genes have been characterized which encode proteins that are involved in Torso signaling: the adaptor protein Drk, the GTP-binding protein Ras1, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Son of sevenless, and the kinases D-Raf and D-Mek. Genetic and molecular evidence supports a model in which these proteins lie in the same biochemical pathway. When activated by its ligand the membrane-bound receptor tyrosine kinase Torso initiates a signal transduction pathway mediated by Drk, Sos, and Ras1, which in turn activates a phosphorylation cascade mediated by the kinases D-Raf and D-Mek, which ultimately control the localized expression of the transcription factors tailless and huckebein. Recently, we found that D-Raf ca...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 17, 2011·Circulation Research·Matthew J Wolf, Howard A Rockman
Feb 27, 2009·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Anastasios MoressisEfthimios M C Skoulakis
Jan 20, 1999·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·U GaykoN Perrimon
Dec 26, 2001·Science's STKE : Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment·D Stein, L M Stevens
Jun 9, 2007·Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta·Deborah T LeichtGuri Tzivion
Jan 30, 2008·Current Protocols in Cell Biology·B M Sefton
Feb 11, 2005·Developmental Dynamics : an Official Publication of the American Association of Anatomists·Willis X Li
Oct 1, 2003·Mechanisms of Development·Mathias BellerHerbert Jäckle
Mar 1, 2006·Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Alan B SilveiraMário A C Silva-Neto

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