Wingless transduction by the Frizzled and Frizzled2 proteins of Drosophila

Development. 1999 Dec;126(23):5441-52. doi: 10.1242/dev.126.23.5441.

Abstract

Wingless (Wg) protein is a founding member of the Wnt family of secreted proteins which have profound organizing roles in animal development. Two members of the Frizzled (Fz) family of seven-pass transmembrane proteins, Drosophila Fz and Fz2, can bind Wg and are candidate Wg receptors. However, null mutations of the fz gene have little effect on Wg signal transduction and the lack of mutations in the fz2 gene has thus far prevented a rigorous examination of its role in vivo. Here we describe the isolation of an amber mutation of fz2 which truncates the coding sequence just after the amino-terminal extracellular domain and behaves genetically as a loss-of-function allele. Using this mutation, we show that Wg signal transduction is abolished in virtually all cells lacking both Fz and Fz2 activity in embryos as well as in the wing imaginal disc. We also show that Fz and Fz2 are functionally redundant: the presence of either protein is sufficient to confer Wg transducing activity on most or all cells throughout development. These results extend prior evidence of a ligand-receptor relationship between Wnt and Frizzled proteins and suggest that Fz and Fz2 are the primary receptors for Wg in Drosophila.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Armadillo Domain Proteins
  • Drosophila Proteins*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / embryology*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster / growth & development
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Female
  • Frizzled Receptors
  • Insect Proteins / genetics
  • Insect Proteins / metabolism
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mutation
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Receptors, Neurotransmitter / genetics
  • Receptors, Neurotransmitter / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Thorax / abnormalities
  • Thorax / embryology
  • Trans-Activators*
  • Transcription Factors
  • Wings, Animal / embryology
  • Wings, Animal / growth & development
  • Wnt1 Protein

Substances

  • ARM protein, Drosophila
  • Armadillo Domain Proteins
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Frizzled Receptors
  • Insect Proteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Receptors, Neurotransmitter
  • Trans-Activators
  • Transcription Factors
  • Wnt1 Protein
  • fz protein, Drosophila
  • fz2 protein, Drosophila
  • wg protein, Drosophila