Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System
Branching morphogenesis and seamless tube formation in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> are essential for the development of vascular and tracheal systems, and instructive in studying complex branched structures such as human organs. Zipper is a myosin II’s actin-binding heavy chain; hence...
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/8/729 |
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| author | Jong-Hyeon Shin Chan-Woo Jeong |
| author_facet | Jong-Hyeon Shin Chan-Woo Jeong |
| author_sort | Jong-Hyeon Shin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Branching morphogenesis and seamless tube formation in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> are essential for the development of vascular and tracheal systems, and instructive in studying complex branched structures such as human organs. Zipper is a myosin II’s actin-binding heavy chain; hence, it is important for contracting actin, cell proliferation, and cell sheet adhesion for branching of the tracheal system in post-larval development of the <i>D. melanogaster</i>. Nevertheless, the specific role of Zipper in the larva is still in question. This paper intended to investigate the specific role of Zipper in branching morphogenesis and lumenogenesis in early developmental stages. It did so by checking the localization of the protein in the cytoplasm of the terminal cells and also by analyzing the morphology of <i>zipper</i> RNAi loss-of-function mutants in regard to branching and lumen formation in the terminal cells. A rescue experiment of RNAi mutants was also performed to check the sufficiency of Zipper in branching morphogenesis. Confocal imaging showed the localization of Zipper in the cytoplasm of the terminal cells, and respective quantitative analyses demonstrated that <i>zipper</i> RNAi terminal cells develop significantly fewer branches. Such a result hinted that Zipper is required for the regulation of branching in the terminal cells of <i>D. melanogaster</i>. Nevertheless, Zipper is not significantly involved in the formation of seamless tubes. One hypothesis is that Zipper’s contractility at the lateral epidermis’ leading edge allows cell sheet movement and respective elongation; as a result of such an elongation, further branching may occur in the elongated region of the cell, hence defining branching morphogenesis in the terminal cells of the tracheal system. |
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| format | Article |
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| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:00:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f2d502fcc1d4c8fbb0f5d6a86a369122023-11-22T06:49:42ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372021-07-0110872910.3390/biology10080729Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal SystemJong-Hyeon Shin0Chan-Woo Jeong1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USADepartment of Medicine, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, KoreaBranching morphogenesis and seamless tube formation in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> are essential for the development of vascular and tracheal systems, and instructive in studying complex branched structures such as human organs. Zipper is a myosin II’s actin-binding heavy chain; hence, it is important for contracting actin, cell proliferation, and cell sheet adhesion for branching of the tracheal system in post-larval development of the <i>D. melanogaster</i>. Nevertheless, the specific role of Zipper in the larva is still in question. This paper intended to investigate the specific role of Zipper in branching morphogenesis and lumenogenesis in early developmental stages. It did so by checking the localization of the protein in the cytoplasm of the terminal cells and also by analyzing the morphology of <i>zipper</i> RNAi loss-of-function mutants in regard to branching and lumen formation in the terminal cells. A rescue experiment of RNAi mutants was also performed to check the sufficiency of Zipper in branching morphogenesis. Confocal imaging showed the localization of Zipper in the cytoplasm of the terminal cells, and respective quantitative analyses demonstrated that <i>zipper</i> RNAi terminal cells develop significantly fewer branches. Such a result hinted that Zipper is required for the regulation of branching in the terminal cells of <i>D. melanogaster</i>. Nevertheless, Zipper is not significantly involved in the formation of seamless tubes. One hypothesis is that Zipper’s contractility at the lateral epidermis’ leading edge allows cell sheet movement and respective elongation; as a result of such an elongation, further branching may occur in the elongated region of the cell, hence defining branching morphogenesis in the terminal cells of the tracheal system.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/8/729branching morphogenesisseamless tube formationzippertracheal systemterminal cells |
| spellingShingle | Jong-Hyeon Shin Chan-Woo Jeong Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System Biology branching morphogenesis seamless tube formation zipper tracheal system terminal cells |
| title | Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System |
| title_full | Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System |
| title_fullStr | Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System |
| title_short | Zipper Is Necessary for Branching Morphogenesis of the Terminal Cells in the <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>’s Tracheal System |
| title_sort | zipper is necessary for branching morphogenesis of the terminal cells in the em drosophila melanogaster em s tracheal system |
| topic | branching morphogenesis seamless tube formation zipper tracheal system terminal cells |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/8/729 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonghyeonshin zipperisnecessaryforbranchingmorphogenesisoftheterminalcellsintheemdrosophilamelanogasteremstrachealsystem AT chanwoojeong zipperisnecessaryforbranchingmorphogenesisoftheterminalcellsintheemdrosophilamelanogasteremstrachealsystem |