DWnt-2, a Drosophila Wnt gene required for the development of the male reproductive tract, specifies a sexually dimorphic cell fate

Genes Dev. 1998 Apr 15;12(8):1155-65. doi: 10.1101/gad.12.8.1155.

Abstract

The sexually dimorphic characteristics of the reproductive tract in Drosophila require that cells of the gonad and the genital disc be assigned sex-specific fates. We report here that DWnt-2, a secreted glycoprotein related to wingless, is a signal required for cell fate determination and morphogenesis in the developing male reproductive tract. Testes from DWnt-2 null mutant flies lack the male-specific pigment cells of the reproductive tract sheath and the muscle precursors of the sheath fail to migrate normally. However, other cell types of the testis are unaffected. DWnt-2 is expressed in somatic cells of the gonad throughout development, implicating it as a signal that can influence pigment cell fate directly. Indeed, the ectopic expression of DWnt-2 in females results in the appearance of male-specific pigment cells in otherwise morphologically normal ovaries. Thus, the presence of pigment cells is a sexually dimorphic trait that is controlled by DWnt-2 expression. DWnt-2 is also expressed in regions of the male genital disc and gonad, which we have identified as sites of contact with muscle precursor cells, suggesting that secreted DWnt-2 protein is a signal for the migration or attachment of these cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Drosophila / genetics*
  • Drosophila / growth & development
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Genes, Insect*
  • Genitalia, Male / growth & development
  • Male
  • Muscles / embryology
  • Mutation
  • Phenotype
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
  • Sex Differentiation*
  • Testis / embryology
  • Wnt2 Protein

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Wnt2 Protein
  • Wnt2 protein, Drosophila