The Vestigial Gene of Drosophila Melanogaster is Involved in the Formation of the Peripheral Nervous System: Genetic Interactions with the Scute Gene

Abstract

The vestigial (vg) gene of Drosophila melanogaster encodes a novel nuclear protein which is required for wing formation but its function is not restricted to this developmental process. In this report, we have examined the possible role of vestigial in the formation of the peripheral nervous system. We found that most vestigial mutants display ectopic or missing macrochaetae. We also show that vestigial interacts in a dose dependant manner with different alleles of the scute gene and with the extramacrochaetae gene and that mis-expression of the vestigial gene in the wing disc increases the domain of scute expression and allows the formation of supernumerary ectopic bristles. From these results, we conclude that vestigial affects scute expression and plays a role in the differentiation of the peripheral nervous system.

Key Words:

• Drosophila
• vestigial
• peripheral nervous system
• scute
• emc