Neuron
Volume 13, Issue 3, September 1994, Pages 507-523
Journal home page for Neuron

Article
Ectopic and increased expression of fasciclin II alters motoneuron growth cone guidance

https://doi.org/10.1016/0896-6273(94)90022-1Get rights and content

Abstract

We used the enhancer detection GAL4 system in Drosophila to direct increased levels of Fasciclin II (Fas II) expression on motoneuron growth cones and axons and to direct ectopic Fas II expression on other cells they encounter. Four classes of abnormal phenotypes are, observed: “bypass” phenotypes, in which axons fail to defasciculate at the choice point where they would normally enter their muscle target region and instead extend past their target; “detour” phenotypes, in which these bypass growth cones enter their muscle target region at a different location; “stall” phenotypes, in which axons that enter their muscle target region fail to defasciculate from one another to probe their muscle targets; and “misroute” phenotypes, in which growth cones are diverted onto abnormal pathways by contact with Fas II-positive cells. These phenotypes show that changes in the pattern and level of Fas 11 expression can alter growth cone guidance, apparently in part by modulating the ability of these growth cones to respond to other guidance cues.

References (44)

  • S. Robinow et al.

    The locus elav of Drosophila melanogaster is expressed in neurons at all developmental stages

    Dev. Biol.

    (1988)
  • U. Rutishauser

    Adhesion molecules of the nervous system

    Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.

    (1993)
  • T. Springer

    Traffic signals for lymphocyte recirculation and leukocyte emigration: the multistep paradigm

    Cell

    (1994)
  • J. Tang et al.

    Polysialic acid influences specific pathfinding by avian motoneurons

    Neuron

    (1992)
  • M. Tessier-Lavigne

    Axon guidance by molecular gradients

    Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.

    (1992)
  • H. Tomasiewicz et al.

    Genetic deletion of a neural cell adhesion molecule variant (N-CAM-180) produces distinct defects in the central nervous system

    Neuron

    (1993)
  • D. Van Vactor et al.

    Genes that control neuromuscular specificity in Drosophila

    Cell

    (1993)
  • M. Ashburner
  • A.H. Brand et al.

    Targeted gene expression as a means of altering cell fates and generating dominant phenotypes

    Development

    (1993)
  • K. Broadie et al.

    From growth cone to synapse: the life history of the RP3 motoneuron

    Development

    (1993)
  • J.A. Campos-Ortega et al.

    The Embryonic Development of Drosophila melanogaster

    (1985)
  • D.R. Cavener

    Comparison of the consensus sequence flanking translational start sites in Drosophila and vertebrates

    Nucl. Acids Res.

    (1987)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text